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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. file — a line of people
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a tool
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. rule — government
  9. object — to protest
  10. rule — a law
  11. clip — to cut
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. clip — a video
  14. file — a document
  15. object — an aim
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. dip — to sink
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. object — a thing
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a cake
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. roll — a list

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