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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. clip — for paper
  5. saw — the tool
  6. lie — to recline
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. rule — government
  9. track — a song
  10. bass — low music
  11. track — to keep track
  12. file — a line of people
  13. field — for sport
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rule — a law
  16. clip — to cut
  17. file — a tool
  18. field — a subject
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. track — a path
  21. clip — a video
  22. field — farmland
  23. bass — the fish
  24. file — a document

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