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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. fall — to drop
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mug — to rob
  6. vault — a safe
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — a cup
  9. rest — a break
  10. track — a song
  11. fall — the season
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. track — a path
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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