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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mate — to breed
  4. clip — a video
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. last — finally
  7. mark — a trace
  8. key — in music
  9. clip — for paper
  10. key — the most important part
  11. last — final
  12. mate — a partner
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. key — for a lock
  15. mate — a friend
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. rock — a stone
  21. stand — to bear
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rock — music
  24. last — to go on

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