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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. clip — a video
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. last — finally
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fall — to drop
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. fall — to drop
  16. suit — in cards
  17. craft — boats
  18. clip — to cut
  19. suit — to fit
  20. suit — clothes
  21. fall — the season
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. clip — for paper

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