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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 120 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. face — to confront
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rash — hasty
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rock — music
  7. firm — decided
  8. prune — to trim
  9. firm — steady
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. firm — a company
  13. rash — a series
  14. track — to keep track
  15. clip — for paper
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. track — a song
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. rock — a stone
  22. pitch — completely
  23. clip — a video
  24. face — to point toward

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