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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. plane — a tool
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. clip — for paper
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. face — to confront
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. face — to point toward
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. chair — a leader

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