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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: mark · tear · track · rush · clip · sharp · content · last

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. content — the amount
  5. clip — for paper
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. last — to go on
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. tear — from crying
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. rush — hurry
  13. mark — a grade
  14. last — final
  15. clip — to cut
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. track — to keep track
  19. content — happy
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mark — a trace
  22. last — finally
  23. clip — a video
  24. mark — to pay attention

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