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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. last — finally
  3. club — for dancing
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bound — tied together
  6. last — to go on
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bound — certain
  9. last — final
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rash — a series
  12. club — for golf
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bear — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. club — a group
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. lean — thin

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