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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. lean — thin
  3. pop — soda
  4. clip — for paper
  5. suit — clothes
  6. lean — to bend
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. chest — of your body
  10. clip — a video
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. suit — to fit
  13. last — finally
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cap — a hat
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. pop — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cap — a lid
  21. chest — a box
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cap — of ice
  24. racket — for tennis

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