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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wound — an injury
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. track — a song
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. game — a match
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. march — the month
  11. stem — to come from
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. march — music
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. clip — to cut
  20. track — to keep track
  21. pitch — completely
  22. wound — an injury
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. march — the month

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