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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. track — to keep track
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — to cut
  5. object — to protest
  6. clip — a video
  7. object — an aim
  8. tube — the underground
  9. track — a song
  10. stock — shares
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. stock — goods
  17. march — the month
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. march — music
  20. object — a thing
  21. game — a match
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. track — a path
  24. clip — for paper

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