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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. firm — steady
  3. swing — in golf
  4. last — final
  5. rest — what's left
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — to cut
  8. swing — music
  9. last — to go on
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rest — a break
  14. firm — decided
  15. ground — crushed
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. rest — what's left
  20. firm — a company
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. swing — to play on
  24. clip — a video

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