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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 120 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: clip · march · hide · last · staff · key · track · stand

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. key — the most important part
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — a video
  6. track — a song
  7. key — for a lock
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. clip — to cut
  16. march — music
  17. key — in music
  18. last — final
  19. march — the month
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stand — to bear
  22. track — to keep track
  23. march — the month
  24. stand — for spectators

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