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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. pit — in a race
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wake — a trail
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rule — a law
  10. clip — a video
  11. drill — a practice
  12. rule — government
  13. pit — a hole
  14. drill — army training
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. staff — employees
  20. clip — for paper
  21. drill — the tool
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. ruler — a monarch

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