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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. ground — crushed
  4. track — to keep track
  5. band — a ring
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. track — a path
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. ground — the earth
  11. dip — to sink
  12. drill — army training
  13. track — a song
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wake — a trail
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. ground — a position
  19. clip — for paper
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. drill — the tool
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. drill — a practice

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