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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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. clip — for paper
  8. branch — a division
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. band — a ring
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. deal — to handle
  20. band — a music group
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. kick — in football

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