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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bank — of a river
  4. fall — the season
  5. content — happy
  6. bound — certain
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tear — to rip
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bank — for money
  13. bound — tied together
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bank — for money
  18. game — a match
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. fall — to drop
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bound — obliged
  24. fall — to drop

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