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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lie — to recline
  5. clip — for paper
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. net — for catching
  8. spell — a short time
  9. last — final
  10. net — after costs
  11. last — to go on
  12. spell — letters
  13. net — in sport
  14. spell — magic
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. lie — an untruth

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