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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. cue — for pool
  7. last — finally
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pass — a permit
  10. ground — crushed
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cue — a hint
  18. pop — music
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. cue — a signal
  21. pop — soda
  22. ground — a position
  23. clip — for paper
  24. season — to add flavour

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