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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bound — certain
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. club — for golf
  6. wax — to grow
  7. ground — crushed
  8. rock — a stone
  9. bound — obliged
  10. file — a tool
  11. rock — music
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. file — a document
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. ground — the earth
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — a group
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ground — a position

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