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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fine — all right
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rest — a break
  6. last — finally
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. clip — a video
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. last — final
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — a law
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. fine — high quality
  23. rule — government
  24. last — to go on

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