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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rush — hurry
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. firm — steady
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. cold — an illness
  12. firm — a company
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. cold — not warm
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pit — in a race
  19. firm — decided
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rush — to hurry

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