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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. land — to come down
  3. pound — a weight
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. march — music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rash — hasty
  8. face — to confront
  9. scale — size or range
  10. face — to point toward
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rash — a series
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. land — a country
  16. saw — the tool
  17. land — ground
  18. face — part of the head
  19. march — the month
  20. saw — the tool
  21. scale — in music
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. march — the month
  24. rash — on the skin

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