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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. clip — a video
  7. net — in sport
  8. mate — a friend
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. clip — for paper
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. plane — a tool
  14. dip — to sink
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. game — a match
  19. track — a song
  20. game — wild animals
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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