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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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. pop — soda
  4. stand — to bear
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pop — music
  7. race — a contest
  8. kid — child
  9. race — humankind
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wound — an injury
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. race — the arms race
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. pop — to visit

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