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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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — a law
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. net — in sport
  7. rest — what's left
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bore — to drill
  11. rule — government
  12. net — for catching
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rest — a break
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. band — a music group
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. net — after costs
  20. bore — to tire
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. clip — a video
  23. rest — what's left
  24. band — a ring

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