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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. board — to get on
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. clip — to cut
  10. spring — a coil
  11. field — farmland
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. field — a subject
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. degree — temperature
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stem — to come from
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. spring — the season
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. field — for sport
  22. degree — from a university
  23. spring — of water
  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