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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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Word bank
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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: fine · track · clip · squash · cap · kid · ground · land

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cap — of ice
  6. ground — a position
  7. cap — a hat
  8. fine — all right
  9. squash — to crush
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ground — crushed
  12. track — a song
  13. ground — the earth
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. fine — high quality
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. land — to come down
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cap — a lid
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. track — a path

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