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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: wind · track · clip · fine · saw · staff · present · march

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. clip — a video
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. clip — for paper
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wind — moving air
  8. present — the time now
  9. staff — employees
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. staff — a stick
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fine — high quality
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fine — all right
  21. staff — employees
  22. march — the month
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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