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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. march — music
  3. spell — letters
  4. track — to keep track
  5. present — the time now
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. last — finally
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. spell — a short time
  10. clip — a video
  11. present — a gift
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. spell — magic
  15. track — a path
  16. clip — for paper
  17. march — the month
  18. present — there
  19. march — the month
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. track — a song
  24. last — to go on

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