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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. rash — a series
  5. swing — in golf
  6. mark — a grade
  7. swing — music
  8. mark — a trace
  9. field — a subject
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pit — in a race
  12. field — farmland
  13. rule — a law
  14. pit — a hole
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rash — hasty
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. rule — government
  20. content — the amount
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. field — for sport
  24. rash — on the skin

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