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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. pop — to visit
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. stand — to bear
  9. track — to keep track
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. row — a line
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. clip — a video
  17. pop — music
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pop — soda
  24. row — a quarrel

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