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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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. ruler — for measuring
  4. chair — a leader
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — a thing
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bore — to tire
  11. object — an aim
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. bore — to drill
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — for paper
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. tube — the underground
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. tube — a container

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