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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. game — wild animals
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kid — to tease
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. roll — a cake
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. kid — child
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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