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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mate — a partner
  3. content — the amount
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. content — happy
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. chair — a leader
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mate — to breed
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mate — a friend
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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