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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. track — to keep track
  3. clip — for paper
  4. net — after costs
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. track — a path
  9. key — in music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kid — child
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. mark — a grade
  14. net — in sport
  15. mark — a trace
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pass — a permit
  18. key — for a lock
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. net — for catching
  22. track — a song
  23. key — the most important part
  24. kid — to tease

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