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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. hand — help
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pit — a hole
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hand — in cards
  9. root — the cause
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rest — a break
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cap — a lid
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rest — what's left
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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