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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. land — a country
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. clip — for paper
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. mug — a face
  14. rest — what's left
  15. last — to go on
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mug — to rob
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mug — a cup

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