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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. drill — a practice
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pit — in a race
  8. clip — a video
  9. last — finally
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. last — to go on
  14. drill — army training
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bass — low music
  18. race — humankind
  19. clip — to cut
  20. race — a contest
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bass — the fish

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