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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: key · band · suit · clip · fall · chair · face · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fall — to drop
  5. band — a music group
  6. fall — the season
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. clip — for paper
  9. suit — to fit
  10. fall — to drop
  11. last — final
  12. suit — clothes
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — in music
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. band — a ring
  20. suit — in cards
  21. face — to confront
  22. key — for a lock
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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