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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mate — a friend
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. clip — a video
  7. file — a document
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bound — certain
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitch — completely
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. clip — for paper
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. file — a line of people
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mate — to breed
  20. track — a song
  21. file — a tool
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — high quality
  24. bound — obliged

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