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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wound — an injury
  6. current — happening now
  7. clip — to cut
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — in music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. current — of water
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stock — shares
  18. field — a subject
  19. current — electric
  20. field — for sport
  21. stock — goods
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — farmland
  24. prune — to trim

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