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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. present — the time now
  3. hand — help
  4. rule — a law
  5. land — a country
  6. rule — government
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. present — a gift
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hand — in cards
  12. land — ground
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — to cut
  16. present — there
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. land — to come down
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. rest — what's left

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