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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. lean — thin
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. net — for catching
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. court — of a king
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. clip — to cut
  17. sharp — clever
  18. court — for sport
  19. net — in sport
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. net — after costs
  22. bat — the animal
  23. lean — to bend
  24. court — of law

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