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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. stand — to bear
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. track — a song
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. track — a path
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mark — a grade
  12. track — to keep track
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mine — for digging
  16. degree — an amount
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stand — for spectators

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