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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. march — the month
  3. track — a song
  4. club — for dancing
  5. track — a path
  6. cue — for pool
  7. ground — a position
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cue — a hint
  11. club — for golf
  12. track — to keep track
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. march — music
  16. chest — a box
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. club — a group
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. clip — to cut
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cue — a signal
  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