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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rest — what's left
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spell — magic
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rest — a break
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wound — an injury
  16. kick — in football
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — letters
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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