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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. staff — a stick
  4. clip — for paper
  5. tear — to rip
  6. staff — employees
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. spring — of water
  9. rule — a law
  10. last — to go on
  11. staff — employees
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. last — final
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. snap — to click
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. clip — to cut
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. rule — government
  24. clip — a video

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