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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. clip — a video
  3. drill — the tool
  4. last — to go on
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bear — the animal
  7. drill — army training
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bear — the animal
  10. can — a tin
  11. bound — certain
  12. can — to be able to
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. can — a tin
  18. clip — for paper
  19. perch — the fish
  20. last — finally
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. press — to push

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