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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. track — a song
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. clip — for paper
  7. fine — all right
  8. perch — the fish
  9. track — a path
  10. rule — government
  11. firm — steady
  12. last — to go on
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. last — final
  15. track — to keep track
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. last — finally
  22. firm — a company
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. rule — a law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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