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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rock — music
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. present — there
  7. field — farmland
  8. craft — a skill
  9. present — a gift
  10. bark — to shout
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. field — a subject
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. present — the time now
  20. craft — boats
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. field — for sport
  23. rock — a stone
  24. pitch — completely

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