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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rush — hurry
  3. last — finally
  4. clip — a video
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. last — final
  7. swing — to play on
  8. clip — to cut
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. charge — in control
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. swing — music
  20. hand — in cards
  21. charge — a price
  22. hand — help
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. charge — electricity

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