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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. mate — a partner
  5. spring — a coil
  6. key — the most important part
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mate — a friend
  9. spring — of water
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. object — a thing
  14. mate — to breed
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. key — in music
  19. object — to protest
  20. key — for a lock
  21. spring — the season
  22. object — an aim
  23. straw — dry grass
  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