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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. mine — for digging
  3. row — to paddle
  4. clip — for paper
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. drill — the tool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. charge — a price
  13. snap — to click
  14. rest — a break
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. clip — a video
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. rest — what's left
  20. charge — in control
  21. clip — to cut
  22. charge — electricity
  23. last — to go on
  24. row — a line

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