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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 124 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. craft — boats
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. face — to point toward
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. face — to confront
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. face — part of the head
  14. tube — a container
  15. drill — army training
  16. craft — a skill
  17. ball — a dance
  18. clip — to cut
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tube — the underground
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ball — a great time

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