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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fall — the season
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. clip — a video
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chair — a leader
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. tube — a container
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. last — finally
  17. fall — to drop
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. stand — to bear
  22. last — to go on
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tube — the underground

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