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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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 — finally
  2. file — a document
  3. last — final
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. object — an aim
  7. object — a thing
  8. last — to go on
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a hole
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. file — a tool
  14. land — to come down
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. object — to protest
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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