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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. court — of a king
  3. root — of a plant
  4. court — of law
  5. race — humankind
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cap — a hat
  8. race — a contest
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. clip — for paper
  12. kick — in football
  13. cap — a lid
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. press — to push
  16. clip — to cut
  17. root — the cause
  18. court — for sport
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. cap — of ice
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. race — the arms race
  24. root — of a word

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