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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bulb — for light
  4. last — finally
  5. can — a tin
  6. face — to confront
  7. spell — magic
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bulb — for light
  12. can — to be able to
  13. last — final
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. face — to point toward
  17. spell — a short time
  18. can — a tin
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spell — letters
  22. last — to go on
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bulb — of a plant

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