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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. last — final
  3. mine — for digging
  4. last — finally
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. fine — high quality
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. present — there
  12. lean — thin
  13. clip — a video
  14. present — a gift
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. lean — to bend
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. present — the time now
  21. deal — to handle
  22. fine — all right
  23. clip — to cut
  24. last — to go on

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