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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. pitch — completely
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. band — a music group
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spring — of water
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. court — of law
  14. plane — a tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. court — for sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. band — a ring
  23. court — of a king
  24. spring — the season

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