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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. court — of a king
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. current — happening now
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. court — of law
  14. cap — a hat
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. cap — a lid
  17. season — in sport
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. court — for sport
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. season — of the year
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fan — to cool the air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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