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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lean — to bend
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lean — thin
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spring — of water
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. branch — a division
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. spell — letters
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spell — magic
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. spring — the season

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