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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 124 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. season — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. mug — a cup
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mug — to rob
  7. net — after costs
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. ball — a great time
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. season — of the year
  18. net — in sport
  19. mug — a face
  20. clip — for paper
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. drill — army training

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