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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. row — to paddle
  5. track — to keep track
  6. tube — a container
  7. row — a line
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. march — the month
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. clip — for paper
  15. march — the month
  16. track — a song
  17. mine — for digging
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. clip — a video
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. march — music
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. plane — a tool

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