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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. object — an aim
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. row — to paddle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. row — a line
  11. object — to protest
  12. clip — for paper
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. object — a thing
  15. clip — a video
  16. last — to go on
  17. pit — in a race
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. clip — to cut
  20. deal — to handle
  21. track — a song
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a path
  24. pit — a hole

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