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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stem — to come from
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. clip — for paper
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. squash — to crush
  15. lean — to bend
  16. club — for golf
  17. lean — thin
  18. date — the fruit
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. clip — to cut
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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