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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. last — final
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. last — to go on
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. last — finally
  8. object — a thing
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. present — a gift
  14. toast — bread
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bound — certain
  17. object — an aim
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bound — obliged
  21. clip — for paper
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. toast — the most admired

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