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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. current — of water
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rush — hurry
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. current — happening now
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cold — an illness
  16. current — electric
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. plane — a tool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. shower — rain
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. clip — for paper
  24. shower — to wash

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