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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. last — final
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spring — of water
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mate — a partner
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. mate — a friend
  15. spring — the season
  16. last — finally
  17. mate — to breed
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. chair — a leader
  21. clip — a video
  22. bass — the fish
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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