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

Word bank: firm · last · clip · pit · jam · cold

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. last — to go on
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. cold — not warm
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. firm — a company
  11. clip — a video
  12. firm — decided
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. cold — an illness
  16. last — finally
  17. firm — steady
  18. last — final

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