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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. clip — a video
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. track — to keep track
  7. saw — the tool
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. season — of the year
  11. clip — for paper
  12. saw — the tool
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. track — a path
  18. last — finally
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. clip — to cut
  22. season — in sport
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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