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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. ball — a dance
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. drill — army training
  5. last — to go on
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bulb — for light
  8. field — farmland
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. field — for sport
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. drill — a practice
  21. field — a subject
  22. last — final
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. clip — a video

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