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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — steady
  3. track — a path
  4. firm — a company
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. clip — to cut
  7. track — a song
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. clip — for paper
  13. march — music
  14. sharp — clever
  15. net — after costs
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. track — to keep track
  20. clip — a video
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. march — the month

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