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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. race — the arms race
  4. last — final
  5. clip — a video
  6. band — a music group
  7. mate — a friend
  8. clip — to cut
  9. band — a ring
  10. bank — for money
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bank — of a river
  13. race — a contest
  14. bank — for money
  15. clip — for paper
  16. race — humankind
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mate — to breed

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