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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. drill — army training
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. track — a song
  6. cap — a lid
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cap — of ice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cap — a hat
  12. row — to paddle
  13. clip — to cut
  14. dip — to sink
  15. track — a path
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. clip — for paper
  19. season — in sport
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. drill — a practice
  22. clip — a video
  23. row — a line
  24. dip — to dunk

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