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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. last — final
  3. shower — to wash
  4. last — finally
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. clip — to cut
  7. drill — army training
  8. rock — music
  9. drill — a practice
  10. board — a committee
  11. last — to go on
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. mug — a cup
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. mug — to rob
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. ball — a dance
  19. rock — a stone
  20. clip — a video
  21. board — to get on
  22. ball — a great time
  23. drill — the tool
  24. mug — a face

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