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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. swing — music
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rule — government
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. track — a song
  11. clip — to cut
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to sink
  14. clip — for paper
  15. sharp — clever
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mark — a trace
  18. swing — in golf
  19. track — to keep track
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mark — a grade
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. clip — a video
  24. rule — a law

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