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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. charge — in control
  6. current — happening now
  7. charge — a price
  8. squash — to crush
  9. degree — an amount
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. charge — electricity
  12. field — for sport
  13. current — of water
  14. clip — to cut
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. field — a subject
  20. kick — in football
  21. degree — temperature
  22. field — farmland
  23. current — electric
  24. squash — the vegetable

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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