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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. track — a song
  6. charge — in control
  7. field — for sport
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. charge — electricity
  11. field — farmland
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. band — a music group
  14. field — a subject
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. charge — a price
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. band — a ring
  21. mine — for digging
  22. stem — to come from
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. deal — an agreement

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