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

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. rule — a law
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. capital — a city
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kid — to tease
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pitch — completely
  14. kid — child
  15. snap — to click
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. capital — money
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. pitch — a sports field

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