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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — a law
  3. march — the month
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bulb — for light
  6. season — of the year
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. season — in sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. branch — a division
  11. rule — government
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bulb — for light
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. march — the month
  17. scale — in music
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. staff — a stick
  22. scale — size or range
  23. march — music
  24. season — to add flavour

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