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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 120 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. clip — a video
  3. season — in sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cell — in biology
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. last — final
  9. clip — for paper
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. last — finally
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. season — of the year
  15. last — to go on
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bat — the animal
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cell — a phone

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