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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. bound — certain
  4. can — a tin
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. clip — for paper
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. squash — to crush
  11. can — to be able to
  12. roll — a list
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. squash — the sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rule — a law
  18. mine — for digging
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. bound — tied together
  21. clip — a video
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bound — obliged
  24. can — a tin

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