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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. field — a subject
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. craft — a skill
  5. clip — to cut
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. field — farmland
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. capital — money
  15. kick — in football
  16. craft — boats
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com