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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chip — for betting
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pass — a permit
  11. mine — for digging
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. last — finally
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. clip — a video
  19. last — final
  20. track — a path
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. sharp — clever
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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