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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. clip — to cut
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. dip — to sink
  6. stock — goods
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. track — a path
  12. sharp — clever
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. row — a line
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — shares
  19. clip — a video
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. track — a song
  22. row — to paddle
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. dip — to dunk

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