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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. track — to keep track
  3. ball — a dance
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bound — certain
  6. track — a song
  7. stand — to bear
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — obliged
  12. row — to paddle
  13. clip — for paper
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. track — a path
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. clip — a video
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a great time

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