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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. snap — to click
  3. firm — decided
  4. clip — for paper
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. firm — steady
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — a video
  9. staff — a stick
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. staff — employees
  12. march — the month
  13. staff — employees
  14. firm — a company
  15. march — music
  16. row — to paddle
  17. last — finally
  18. clip — to cut
  19. row — a line
  20. cue — a hint
  21. last — to go on
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cue — a signal

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