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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. clip — for paper
  3. net — in sport
  4. foot — a measure
  5. suit — to fit
  6. season — in sport
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. suit — in cards
  9. suit — clothes
  10. net — after costs
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. last — final
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. clip — a video
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. net — for catching
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. last — finally

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