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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. last — final
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. prune — to trim
  12. file — a tool
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bound — certain
  15. last — finally
  16. file — a line of people
  17. stand — to bear
  18. bound — obliged
  19. last — to go on
  20. bound — tied together
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. rush — hurry
  23. file — a document
  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