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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. last — final
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bound — obliged
  6. chair — a leader
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. clip — to cut
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. toast — bread
  15. squash — the sport
  16. clip — for paper
  17. last — to go on
  18. pound — a weight
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. clip — a video
  21. bound — tied together
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bound — certain
  24. chair — a professorship

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