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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. clip — for paper
  3. last — finally
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. lie — to recline
  6. staff — employees
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. board — a committee
  9. bat — the animal
  10. board — to get on
  11. clip — a video
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. staff — a stick
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. last — final
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — to go on
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. leaves — to go away

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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