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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rest — a break
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. last — to go on
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — to tease
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. clip — a video
  16. last — final
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kid — child
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. toast — bread
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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