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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 120 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. spring — a coil
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. rule — a law
  7. clip — to cut
  8. spring — of water
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stock — shares
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. staff — a stick
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. chair — a leader
  17. stock — goods
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. spring — the season
  21. staff — employees
  22. rule — government
  23. fork — in a road
  24. staff — employees

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