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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. track — a path
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. spell — magic
  7. bound — tied together
  8. spell — letters
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. swing — to play on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. spell — a short time
  14. clip — to cut
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rash — hasty
  17. track — a song
  18. lie — to recline
  19. bound — certain
  20. ground — a position
  21. rash — a series
  22. clip — a video
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bound — obliged

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