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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rule — government
  9. chip — for betting
  10. rush — hurry
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. bore — to tire
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. rule — a law
  17. bore — to drill
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. ball — a dance
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a great time

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