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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bound — certain
  4. clip — a video
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bound — obliged
  10. snap — to click
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bound — tied together
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rule — a law
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. deal — to handle
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bear — the animal
  24. season — in sport

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