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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. wake — a trail
  3. squash — to crush
  4. clip — a video
  5. spring — the season
  6. track — a song
  7. clip — for paper
  8. squash — the sport
  9. last — to go on
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. last — finally
  12. track — to keep track
  13. plane — a tool
  14. kick — in football
  15. last — final
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. spring — of water
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. clip — to cut
  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