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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. racket — a loud noise
  2. rest — what's left
  3. clip — a video
  4. track — to keep track
  5. present — a gift
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. file — a document
  8. rest — what's left
  9. present — there
  10. rest — a break
  11. mate — a partner
  12. clip — to cut
  13. file — a tool
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. track — a song
  16. mate — to breed
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bat — the animal
  20. track — a path
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. file — a line of people
  23. clip — for paper
  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