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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. suit — in cards
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. last — final
  7. rush — hurry
  8. cell — a phone
  9. roll — a list
  10. cell — in biology
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. last — to go on
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. clip — a video
  16. suit — to fit
  17. last — finally
  18. suit — clothes
  19. roll — a cake
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. rush — a thrill

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