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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pit — a hole
  6. staff — employees
  7. clip — to cut
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. clip — for paper
  13. roll — a cake
  14. craft — a skill
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. clip — a video
  20. chest — of your body
  21. last — final
  22. craft — boats
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pound — for dogs

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