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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: track · chair · rule · pass · kick · clip

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. clip — a video
  4. kick — in football
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. track — a song
  7. pass — a permit
  8. track — to keep track
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — a law
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. track — a path
  18. rule — government

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