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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. tube — the underground
  7. court — of a king
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fine — high quality
  10. drill — army training
  11. tube — a container
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. clip — to cut
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. fine — all right
  18. chair — a leader
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. pit — in a race
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. drill — a practice
  24. tube — in a tire

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