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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rash — hasty
  5. track — a song
  6. rash — a series
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bat — the animal
  9. clip — a video
  10. cap — a lid
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. track — to keep track
  24. pop — music

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