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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pop — music
  7. band — a music group
  8. last — final
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pop — soda
  11. pass — a permit
  12. last — to go on
  13. track — to keep track
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. clip — for paper
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. track — a path
  20. mark — a grade
  21. track — a song
  22. last — finally
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — a video

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