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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. can — to be able to
  3. face — to point toward
  4. pop — to visit
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. file — a tool
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. season — of the year
  11. file — a document
  12. ball — a dance
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. clip — for paper
  15. can — a tin
  16. face — to confront
  17. clip — to cut
  18. season — in sport
  19. face — part of the head
  20. can — a tin
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. ball — a great time

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