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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. clip — a video
  3. last — finally
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — to bend
  6. clip — for paper
  7. club — for dancing
  8. last — to go on
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fine — all right
  11. last — final
  12. mark — a grade
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mark — a trace
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. club — a group
  18. fine — high quality
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. lean — thin
  21. club — for golf
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — the time now

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