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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · rule · wound · clip · club · leaves · key · track

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. clip — for paper
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. key — the most important part
  6. club — a group
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rule — a law
  9. key — in music
  10. march — the month
  11. track — to keep track
  12. club — for dancing
  13. track — a song
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. march — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — a video
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. key — for a lock
  20. club — for golf
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. rule — government
  23. track — a path
  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