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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. pass — a permit
  5. clip — for paper
  6. file — a tool
  7. perch — the fish
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. cell — a phone
  10. file — a document
  11. clip — to cut
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. season — in sport
  14. last — final
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. last — finally
  21. file — a line of people
  22. clip — a video
  23. cell — in biology
  24. last — to go on

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