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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. branch — a division
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. kick — in football
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. prune — to trim
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wind — moving air
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. court — of a king
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. pound — a weight
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. court — of law
  21. court — for sport
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. arm — part of the body

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