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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pitch — completely
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ground — the earth
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. press — to push
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — to cut
  15. perch — the fish
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. press — newspapers
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — for paper
  24. scale — in music

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