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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. clip — for paper
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. rest — what's left
  6. last — final
  7. ground — a position
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cue — a signal
  10. ground — the earth
  11. season — in sport
  12. rest — a break
  13. race — humankind
  14. last — to go on
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cue — a hint
  17. last — finally
  18. race — a contest
  19. cue — for pool
  20. rest — what's left
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rock — music
  23. clip — a video
  24. season — of the year

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