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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. tear — to rip
  3. staff — employees
  4. object — to protest
  5. clip — to cut
  6. staff — employees
  7. toast — bread
  8. ground — crushed
  9. object — a thing
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. ground — a position
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. ground — the earth
  19. object — an aim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — for paper
  22. staff — a stick
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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