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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. foot — part of the body
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cold — not warm
  10. foot — a measure
  11. cold — an illness
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rest — a break
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wound — an injury
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. shower — rain
  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