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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 120 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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. fine — all right
  5. land — to come down
  6. game — wild animals
  7. foot — a measure
  8. land — a country
  9. clip — for paper
  10. game — a match
  11. fine — high quality
  12. field — a subject
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. root — of a word
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. root — of a plant
  18. field — farmland
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. land — ground
  21. root — the cause
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. field — for sport

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