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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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. file — a tool
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. object — to protest
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. land — a country
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. file — a document
  13. clip — to cut
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. object — an aim
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. file — a line of people
  19. land — to come down
  20. object — a thing
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. land — ground
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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