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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. track — a path
  3. last — final
  4. mug — to rob
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. last — to go on
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. club — for golf
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. last — finally
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. clip — a video
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bass — low music
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. club — a group
  21. mug — a cup
  22. bass — the fish
  23. club — for dancing
  24. mug — a face

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