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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bat — the animal
  4. charge — in control
  5. ground — a position
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. court — of a king
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. fall — the season
  12. pit — a hole
  13. charge — a price
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — for sport
  17. ground — crushed
  18. court — of law
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. fall — to drop
  22. ground — the earth
  23. charge — electricity
  24. bat — in an idiom

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