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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 120 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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. staff — employees
  3. present — there
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. clip — to cut
  7. present — a gift
  8. staff — a stick
  9. cold — an illness
  10. present — the time now
  11. shower — rain
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. staff — employees
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. rash — hasty
  18. shower — to wash
  19. kick — in football
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — a series

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