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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. fork — in a road
  3. pop — soda
  4. court — of law
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. lean — thin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. court — of a king
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. lean — to bend
  17. court — for sport
  18. pop — to visit
  19. board — to get on
  20. spell — magic
  21. pop — music
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. board — a committee

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