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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — final
  4. clip — a video
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stand — to bear
  8. clip — to cut
  9. last — finally
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. club — a group
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. prune — to trim
  18. last — to go on
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rest — what's left
  22. club — for golf
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. club — for dancing

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