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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. track — a path
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. charge — electricity
  10. file — a tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. file — a line of people
  15. track — to keep track
  16. game — a match
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. charge — in control
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. charge — a price
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. file — a document

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