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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wound — an injury
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. clip — a video
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bound — tied together
  11. rash — hasty
  12. last — final
  13. scale — in music
  14. bound — certain
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. last — finally
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spell — letters
  21. rash — a series
  22. scale — size or range
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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