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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. march — the month
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rule — a law
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. kid — child
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rule — government
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. clip — a video

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