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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. ground — a position
  3. squash — to crush
  4. lean — to bend
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pass — a permit
  7. ground — crushed
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. ground — the earth
  13. lean — thin
  14. scale — size or range
  15. net — for catching
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. track — a song
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. clip — to cut
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. scale — in music
  22. clip — for paper
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pass — to spend time

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