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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. squash — the sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. race — a contest
  8. cap — a hat
  9. clip — to cut
  10. squash — to crush
  11. present — a gift
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. present — the time now
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. present — there
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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