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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. tube — a container
  6. rest — a break
  7. bound — certain
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. clip — a video
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. last — finally
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. last — final
  22. tube — the underground
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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