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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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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. row — to paddle
  3. last — final
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. last — finally
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. field — farmland
  9. rest — what's left
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rest — a break
  12. stand — to bear
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. row — a line

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