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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. present — there
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. drill — a practice
  5. fine — all right
  6. clip — a video
  7. last — final
  8. fine — high quality
  9. present — the time now
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. drill — the tool
  12. present — a gift
  13. clip — for paper
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. drill — army training
  18. sharp — clever
  19. last — finally
  20. spell — a short time
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. spell — magic
  23. clip — to cut
  24. last — to go on

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