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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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Word bank
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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: clip · last · object · lie · hand · game · rock · craft

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. 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. last — to go on
  2. lie — to recline
  3. hand — help
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. object — a thing
  8. craft — a skill
  9. rock — music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. hand — in cards
  13. object — an aim
  14. craft — boats
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. game — wild animals
  17. object — to protest
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — a match
  20. last — finally
  21. rock — a stone
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. 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