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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. season — in sport
  5. key — in music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. key — for a lock
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. key — the most important part
  12. rock — music
  13. season — of the year
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. court — of a king
  16. clip — to cut
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. plane — a tool
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rock — a stone

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