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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pop — to visit
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pop — music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. roll — a cake
  18. dip — to sink
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. roll — a list
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pop — soda

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