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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. track — a path
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mark — a grade
  5. track — a song
  6. clip — for paper
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bound — certain
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. face — to confront
  11. net — after costs
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. face — to point toward
  14. swing — to play on
  15. track — to keep track
  16. swing — in golf
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — obliged
  21. mark — a trace
  22. clip — a video
  23. swing — music
  24. clip — to cut

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