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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 116 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. season — in sport
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. rest — what's left
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. plane — a tool
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. clip — a video
  10. firm — a company
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. season — of the year
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mine — for digging
  18. hand — in cards
  19. firm — steady
  20. hand — help
  21. last — finally
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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