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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · clip · track · dip · stock · game · leaves · chair

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. track — a path
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. clip — to cut
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. clip — a video
  9. chair — a leader
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. track — a song
  12. band — a ring
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. track — to keep track
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. stock — shares
  19. band — a music group
  20. game — wild animals
  21. stock — goods
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. clip — for paper

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