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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. clip — a video
  3. land — to come down
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. land — ground
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. clip — for paper
  9. file — a tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. season — of the year
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. season — in sport
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. land — a country
  20. last — to go on
  21. file — a document
  22. clip — to cut
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. last — final

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