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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's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. date — the fruit
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — the cause
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. root — of a word
  14. clip — for paper
  15. last — final
  16. clip — a video
  17. sharp — clever
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. pass — a permit
  22. clip — to cut
  23. last — to go on
  24. racket — for tennis

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