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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. track — a path
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. drill — army training
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. chip — for betting
  9. deal — to handle
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. chip — to eat
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. track — to keep track
  24. pitch — completely

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