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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. track — a path
  3. file — a document
  4. last — final
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. track — a song
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. file — a line of people
  10. last — to go on
  11. file — a tool
  12. last — finally
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. clip — to cut
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. squash — to crush
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — a trace
  19. track — to keep track
  20. lie — to recline
  21. deal — to handle
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. mark — to pay attention

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