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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. charge — in control
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. charge — electricity
  6. chest — a box
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. race — humankind
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lie — to recline
  15. charge — a price
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitch — completely
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wind — moving air
  24. clip — to cut

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