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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. key — in music
  3. clip — a video
  4. field — a subject
  5. rule — government
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rule — a law
  8. club — for dancing
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. pop — soda
  11. field — for sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kick — in football
  14. field — farmland
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wind — moving air
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. pop — music
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — for a lock

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