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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. foot — a measure
  5. net — after costs
  6. track — to keep track
  7. last — to go on
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. net — in sport
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. clip — to cut
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. net — for catching
  18. deal — to handle
  19. clip — a video
  20. scale — in music
  21. track — a song
  22. track — a path
  23. clip — for paper
  24. leaves — to go away

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