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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ground — the earth
  3. mark — a trace
  4. clip — for paper
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. track — a song
  8. ground — a position
  9. mark — a grade
  10. clip — to cut
  11. court — of law
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. dip — to sink
  14. clip — a video
  15. club — for golf
  16. track — to keep track
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. ground — crushed
  20. file — a line of people
  21. club — for dancing
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. club — a group

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