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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. land — ground
  4. bass — low music
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. land — to come down
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. present — there
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. clip — to cut
  12. land — a country
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rock — music
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. present — the time now
  17. cold — an illness
  18. present — a gift
  19. bass — the fish
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bass — the instrument

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