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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wound — an injury
  3. present — a gift
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. last — final
  8. wound — an injury
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. last — finally
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. last — to go on
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. key — in music
  17. key — for a lock
  18. clip — to cut
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. present — the time now
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. dip — to sink
  24. key — the most important part

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