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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. clip — a video
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. clip — to cut
  7. scale — in music
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. track — a path
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a hole
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. sharp — clever
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. track — a song
  18. sharp — exactly

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