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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. track — a path
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bank — for money
  8. tube — a container
  9. track — to keep track
  10. kick — in football
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. snap — to click
  16. bank — for money
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. track — a song

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