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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. chest — a box
  4. staff — employees
  5. track — a song
  6. band — a music group
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. band — a ring
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. staff — a stick
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. fine — high quality
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fine — all right
  19. staff — employees
  20. track — to keep track
  21. chest — of your body
  22. row — to paddle
  23. track — a path
  24. fine — a penalty

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