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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 116 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — in a race
  5. branch — a division
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ground — crushed
  8. band — a music group
  9. ground — the earth
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. ground — a position
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. band — a ring
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bear — the animal

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