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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. clip — a video
  3. spell — a short time
  4. rule — government
  5. file — a line of people
  6. rule — a law
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spell — magic
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. spell — letters
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chest — of your body
  19. file — a tool
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. wave — with your hand

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