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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. clip — a video
  3. rest — a break
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pitch — completely
  8. row — a line
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. clip — to cut
  13. row — to paddle
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. capital — a city
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. capital — money
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hide — animal skin

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