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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. plane — a tool
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — a hole
  8. track — to keep track
  9. tear — from crying
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. kid — child
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tear — to rip
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. track — a song
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stand — to bear
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. court — of a king
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. track — a path
  24. pit — in a race

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