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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. track — a song
  3. clip — a video
  4. scale — in music
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — music
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — for paper
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a leader
  14. clip — to cut
  15. march — the month
  16. rock — a stone
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rock — music
  19. track — to keep track
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. scale — size or range
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. track — a path
  24. chair — a professorship

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