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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. foot — a measure
  3. clip — for paper
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. mark — a grade
  8. clip — a video
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. last — finally
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. mark — a trace
  15. last — to go on
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. game — wild animals
  21. clip — to cut
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. game — a match
  24. fan — a supporter

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