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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. object — a thing
  3. last — to go on
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rock — music
  6. clip — a video
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. last — final
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. ground — crushed
  13. lie — to recline
  14. object — an aim
  15. rash — a series
  16. rock — a stone
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. object — to protest
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rash — hasty
  21. clip — to cut
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. ground — a position
  24. lie — an untruth

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