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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rest — what's left
  7. lean — to bend
  8. stand — to bear
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bear — the animal
  15. lean — thin
  16. rest — a break
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. bear — the animal
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. dip — to sink
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. clip — for paper

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