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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pop — music
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pop — soda
  5. clip — to cut
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — to get on
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — a video
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rock — a stone
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. drill — army training
  17. pop — to visit
  18. rock — music
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. drill — a practice

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