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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. last — to go on
  6. clip — for paper
  7. march — the month
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. last — finally
  13. tear — to rip
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — to cut
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. last — final
  21. pound — a weight
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. tear — from crying

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