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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. object — a thing
  3. mate — a friend
  4. clip — for paper
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. prune — to trim
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bear — the animal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bat — the animal
  14. object — to protest
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. object — an aim
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. content — happy
  20. mate — a partner
  21. content — the amount
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bear — the animal
  24. prune — to trim

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