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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 124 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mate — a partner
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a list
  7. clip — a video
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. last — to go on
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. rule — government
  12. game — a match
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. game — wild animals
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rule — a law
  21. mate — a friend
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. last — finally
  24. mate — to breed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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