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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 124 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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. toast — bread
  3. clip — for paper
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spring — a coil
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. spring — of water
  12. kid — child
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. dip — to sink
  16. clip — to cut
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. spring — the season

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