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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. ground — a position
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bat — the animal
  7. prune — to trim
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. ground — the earth
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mark — a trace
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. tube — a container
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. club — for golf
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. ground — crushed

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