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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. fork — in a road
  4. roll — a cake
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. file — a document
  7. chest — of your body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. file — a line of people
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. clip — to cut
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. clip — a video
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. file — a tool
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chest — of your body
  20. last — to go on
  21. chest — a box
  22. last — finally
  23. roll — a list
  24. fork — a garden tool

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