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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bank — for money
  5. face — part of the head
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. last — finally
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. face — to confront
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. clip — to cut
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. clip — for paper
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bank — for money
  21. pitch — completely
  22. last — final
  23. clip — a video
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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