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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. ball — a great time
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. tube — a container
  9. swing — to play on
  10. file — a line of people
  11. spring — of water
  12. tube — the underground
  13. snap — to click
  14. ball — a dance
  15. file — a tool
  16. spring — a coil
  17. file — a document
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — crushed
  21. spring — the season
  22. clip — for paper
  23. ground — a position
  24. ball — a round shape

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