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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bank — of a river
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. mark — a grade
  8. track — a path
  9. bank — for money
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. track — to keep track
  16. mark — a trace
  17. scale — size or range
  18. rash — a series
  19. bank — for money
  20. scale — in music
  21. clip — to cut
  22. track — a song
  23. saw — the tool
  24. clip — a video

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