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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lean — thin
  3. file — a tool
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spell — magic
  8. file — a line of people
  9. last — final
  10. charge — a price
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. charge — electricity
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. spell — letters
  17. charge — in control
  18. last — to go on
  19. spell — a short time
  20. file — a document
  21. last — finally
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lean — to bend

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