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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. drill — army training
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. present — the time now
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. last — final
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stock — shares
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. drill — a practice
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. present — a gift
  16. shower — to wash
  17. drill — the tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. stock — goods
  20. shower — rain
  21. last — finally
  22. clip — for paper
  23. present — there
  24. clip — a video

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