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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. scale — size or range
  3. last — to go on
  4. clip — a video
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — for paper
  8. last — final
  9. scale — in music
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. drill — army training
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. bank — of a river
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. season — of the year
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — for money
  20. season — in sport
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wave — of the sea

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