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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.

Make a worksheet

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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · cell · last · scale · chair · clip

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cell — in biology
  4. chair — a leader
  5. clip — for paper
  6. last — to go on
  7. clip — a video
  8. scale — in music
  9. last — final
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cell — a phone
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. scale — size or range
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left

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