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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bound — obliged
  4. clip — a video
  5. track — a song
  6. spell — magic
  7. object — an aim
  8. spell — letters
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spell — a short time
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bound — certain
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. track — a path
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bound — tied together
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. clip — to cut
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — a thing
  23. track — to keep track
  24. chair — a leader

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