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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lean — thin
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. lean — to bend
  8. clip — to cut
  9. roll — a list
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. squash — to crush
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. mine — for digging
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. clip — for paper
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. roll — a cake
  24. squash — the sport

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