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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: wind · rest · clip · last · charge · hand · rush · vault

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. charge — electricity
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — in cards
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. charge — in control
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. charge — a price
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wind — moving air
  20. vault — a safe
  21. rest — a break
  22. hand — help
  23. rush — hurry
  24. clip — for paper

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