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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cap — a hat
  3. hand — in cards
  4. track — to keep track
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — music
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. rock — a stone
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cap — of ice
  16. spell — magic
  17. cap — a lid
  18. track — a song
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — a path
  22. spell — letters
  23. clip — a video
  24. hand — help

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