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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. staff — employees
  4. last — to go on
  5. charge — a price
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. charge — in control
  8. ground — crushed
  9. last — finally
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — for paper
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. kick — in football
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. ground — the earth
  18. charge — electricity
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. clip — to cut
  21. march — music
  22. dip — to sink
  23. clip — a video
  24. last — final

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