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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bark — to shout
  10. last — to go on
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. saw — the tool
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. clip — for paper
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. clip — a video
  24. last — finally

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