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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. land — ground
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. land — a country
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. land — to come down
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. march — music
  13. last — to go on
  14. clip — for paper
  15. march — the month
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. march — the month
  18. plane — a tool
  19. squash — to crush
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. last — finally
  23. squash — the sport
  24. track — to keep track

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