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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. suit — clothes
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. spell — letters
  6. last — final
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spell — magic
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. suit — in cards
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. clip — for paper
  14. club — for dancing
  15. spell — a short time
  16. clip — to cut
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. last — to go on
  19. club — a group
  20. suit — to fit
  21. last — finally
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. clip — a video
  24. leaves — of a tree

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