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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 116 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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bank — for money
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bass — low music
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bank — of a river
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. bank — for money
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. kid — child
  24. bass — the fish

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