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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kid — to tease
  5. clip — a video
  6. field — a subject
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — a stone
  9. track — a path
  10. rock — music
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a dance
  14. field — farmland
  15. kid — child
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. track — a song
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. field — for sport
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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