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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. track — to keep track
  3. clip — to cut
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the sport
  7. last — finally
  8. swing — in golf
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stock — shares
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. track — a song
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. last — to go on
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — to play on
  20. last — final
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. clip — a video
  23. stock — goods
  24. track — a path

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