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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. clip — to cut
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. perch — the fish
  7. spell — a short time
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. spell — letters
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — for paper
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. lie — to recline
  23. spell — magic
  24. chip — in a computer

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