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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. last — finally
  6. clip — for paper
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fine — all right
  12. present — the time now
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. shower — rain
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — there
  24. fan — a supporter

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