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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. hand — in cards
  4. season — in sport
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. season — of the year
  15. lean — to bend
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. lean — thin
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. hand — help
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. squash — the sport
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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