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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. track — to keep track
  6. rule — a law
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — not warm
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. track — a path
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. track — a song
  19. rule — government
  20. fine — high quality
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. club — for golf
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fine — all right

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