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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. spell — letters
  3. clip — for paper
  4. spell — magic
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. pop — soda
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. present — a gift
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wind — moving air
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — a weight
  14. spell — a short time
  15. clip — to cut
  16. present — there
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. present — the time now
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — 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