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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — certain
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bound — obliged
  8. track — a song
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — a group
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. track — a path
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. present — a gift
  16. clip — for paper
  17. present — there
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. clip — a video
  20. club — for dancing
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. present — the time now

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