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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 116 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 · wake · staff · tear · stand · current · clip

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. firm — decided
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. staff — employees
  5. current — happening now
  6. firm — a company
  7. staff — a stick
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. last — final
  12. firm — steady
  13. clip — a video
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. current — electric
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. stand — to bear
  18. last — finally
  19. tear — to rip
  20. current — of water
  21. staff — employees
  22. wake — a trail
  23. last — to go on
  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