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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. staff — employees
  4. march — the month
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pound — a weight
  10. field — for sport
  11. staff — a stick
  12. charge — in control
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. march — music
  15. field — a subject
  16. charge — a price
  17. field — farmland
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. march — the month
  21. staff — employees
  22. cell — a phone
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cell — in biology

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