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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: key · clip · last · bowl · row · pitch · track · ruler

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. row — a line
  5. last — to go on
  6. key — in music
  7. track — a song
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. clip — to cut
  17. track — to keep track
  18. last — finally
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. last — final

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