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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — to cut
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. club — for golf
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. club — a group
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. game — a match
  11. capital — a city
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cell — in biology
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cell — a phone
  18. ground — a position
  19. clip — for paper
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. club — for dancing
  24. safe — out of danger

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