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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wake — a trail
  3. last — final
  4. craft — boats
  5. rule — government
  6. pop — to visit
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pop — music
  9. clip — to cut
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pop — soda
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rule — a law
  16. last — finally
  17. craft — a skill
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — the underground
  22. last — to go on
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. wake — before a funeral

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