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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. row — a line
  3. lean — to bend
  4. ground — a position
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. track — a song
  7. press — newspapers
  8. clip — a video
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. lean — thin
  11. rush — hurry
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ground — crushed
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. pitch — completely
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. row — to paddle
  20. ground — the earth
  21. clip — to cut
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  24. track — to keep track

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