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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. clip — a video
  3. lie — to recline
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. clip — to cut
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stem — to come from
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. kick — in football
  17. land — to come down
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. land — ground

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