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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. sharp — clever
  4. object — an aim
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. race — a contest
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — to protest
  13. race — humankind
  14. season — in sport
  15. object — a thing
  16. cold — not warm
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cold — an illness
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pass — a permit
  21. clip — for paper
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bowl — a dish

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