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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 124 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. swing — to play on
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pit — a hole
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. game — a match
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — for golf
  15. roll — a cake
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. foot — a measure
  18. pit — in a race
  19. roll — a list
  20. clip — for paper
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. swing — music
  23. bat — the animal
  24. club — a group

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