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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. last — finally
  3. track — a path
  4. kick — in football
  5. face — part of the head
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wake — a trail
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rest — a break
  21. face — to confront
  22. track — a song
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rest — what's left

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