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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. season — in sport
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bear — the animal
  5. track — a path
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kid — child
  8. clip — a video
  9. track — a song
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. row — a line
  13. clip — for paper
  14. season — of the year
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. row — to paddle
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bear — the animal
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wake — a trail
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pop — music
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bear — to put up with

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