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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. clip — to cut
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. clip — for paper
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. mate — to breed
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. capital — a city
  11. club — a group
  12. mate — a partner
  13. club — for dancing
  14. mate — a friend
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. capital — money
  17. game — a match
  18. fall — the season
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fall — to drop
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. club — for golf
  23. fall — to drop
  24. game — wild animals

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