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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wind — moving air
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wind — moving air
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. track — a song
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. march — the month
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. hand — help
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. clip — a video
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. hand — in cards
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. clip — to cut
  24. track — a path

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