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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rest — a break
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. clip — for paper
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. rest — what's left
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mug — to rob
  15. clip — a video
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bark — to shout
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pass — a permit
  24. rest — what's left

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