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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. rule — a law
  3. clip — to cut
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. last — finally
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. lie — to recline
  9. last — final
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. rule — government
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. squash — to crush
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. last — to go on
  24. lie — an untruth

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