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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. last — finally
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. last — to go on
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. saw — the tool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

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