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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. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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. game — a match
  4. lie — to recline
  5. chip — for betting
  6. last — final
  7. court — for sport
  8. stand — to bear
  9. clip — a video
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. game — wild animals
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. last — finally
  17. clip — for paper
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. lie — an untruth

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