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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 120 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. scale — size or range
  7. saw — the tool
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bark — to shout
  10. clip — to cut
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. press — newspapers
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. track — a path
  16. press — to push
  17. race — humankind
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. press — a publisher
  20. race — a contest
  21. clip — a video
  22. scale — in music
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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