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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. band — a ring
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. chip — for betting
  5. clip — to cut
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chip — to eat
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bark — to shout
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. band — a music group
  19. toast — bread
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. game — a match
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. clip — for paper

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