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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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 song
  2. track — to keep track
  3. swing — music
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. can — a tin
  7. track — a path
  8. rest — a break
  9. spell — a short time
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. can — a tin
  12. season — of the year
  13. last — to go on
  14. spell — magic
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. can — to be able to
  20. spell — letters
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. season — in sport
  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