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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. clip — for paper
  3. track — a path
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. field — farmland
  7. board — to get on
  8. rush — hurry
  9. track — to keep track
  10. charge — in control
  11. bound — certain
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. bound — tied together
  15. track — a song
  16. field — a subject
  17. clip — a video
  18. charge — electricity
  19. field — for sport
  20. charge — a price
  21. squash — to crush
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bound — obliged
  24. rush — a thrill

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