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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 116 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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. clip — to cut
  4. perch — the fish
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. band — a music group
  7. clip — a video
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. band — a ring
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. branch — a division
  12. lie — to recline
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rule — a law
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mine — an explosive

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