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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rush — hurry
  3. clip — to cut
  4. club — for golf
  5. track — a path
  6. staff — employees
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. bass — low music
  10. last — to go on
  11. staff — a stick
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. clip — a video
  14. bank — of a river
  15. staff — employees
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. last — final
  18. club — a group
  19. track — a song
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. club — for dancing
  22. clip — for paper
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bass — the fish

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