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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. chip — to eat
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. club — a group
  19. mine — for digging
  20. club — for dancing
  21. wound — an injury
  22. clip — to cut
  23. club — for golf
  24. race — a contest

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