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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. season — in sport
  3. track — a song
  4. rash — a series
  5. track — a path
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. clip — for paper
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. clip — a video
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lean — thin
  12. clip — to cut
  13. lean — to bend
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. kid — child
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. season — of the year
  22. track — to keep track
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wound — an injury

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