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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. last — to go on
  3. mark — a trace
  4. rock — a stone
  5. mug — a face
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — for paper
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — moving air
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. last — finally
  19. mug — to rob
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. last — final
  23. clip — a video
  24. rock — music

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