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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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Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. staff — employees
  6. game — wild animals
  7. staff — a stick
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. season — in sport
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. spring — the season
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. staff — employees
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. season — of the year
  22. game — a match
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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