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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. file — a tool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. land — a country
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. land — ground
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fork — in a road
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. land — to come down
  18. file — a document
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. rest — a break
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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