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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. saw — the tool
  5. track — a path
  6. rush — hurry
  7. clip — to cut
  8. last — to go on
  9. mug — a face
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. last — final
  12. firm — a company
  13. rule — government
  14. clip — a video
  15. firm — decided
  16. track — to keep track
  17. mug — a cup
  18. rule — a law
  19. firm — steady
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. last — finally
  23. saw — the tool
  24. track — a song

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