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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  3. last — final
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. last — finally
  7. club — for golf
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. march — the month
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. club — a group
  13. march — music
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. clip — to cut
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. last — to go on
  21. clip — a video
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. march — the month
  24. leaves — to go away

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