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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. clip — to cut
  3. last — final
  4. pass — a permit
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. bear — the animal
  9. last — finally
  10. wind — moving air
  11. key — the most important part
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. object — a thing
  14. last — to go on
  15. wind — moving air
  16. clip — a video
  17. key — in music
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. object — to protest
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. key — for a lock

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