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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. clip — a video
  4. swing — music
  5. cap — of ice
  6. row — to paddle
  7. file — a line of people
  8. field — for sport
  9. staff — a stick
  10. field — a subject
  11. staff — employees
  12. track — a song
  13. field — farmland
  14. track — a path
  15. swing — to play on
  16. staff — employees
  17. file — a document
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cap — a hat
  20. file — a tool
  21. cap — a lid
  22. clip — for paper
  23. swing — in golf
  24. track — to keep track

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