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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. season — in sport
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. season — of the year
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. mug — a face
  13. last — finally
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — certain
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. bound — tied together
  21. toast — bread
  22. last — to go on
  23. clip — for paper
  24. season — to add flavour

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