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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — music
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wind — moving air
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pass — a permit
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pass — to succeed

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