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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. season — in sport
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. chest — of your body
  5. season — of the year
  6. lean — to bend
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. chip — to eat
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — a video
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. clip — for paper
  20. object — an aim
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lean — thin
  24. chip — for betting

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