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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mark — a grade
  3. rule — government
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. rule — a law
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. last — final
  9. kick — in football
  10. present — there
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. deal — to handle
  13. present — the time now
  14. last — finally
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. clip — a video
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. clip — for paper
  20. last — to go on
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. present — a gift
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mark — a trace

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