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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. can — a tin
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. can — to be able to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. clip — to cut
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pit — a hole
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pit — in a race
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. race — humankind
  17. can — a tin
  18. race — the arms race
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. race — a contest
  23. clip — a video
  24. rule — to rule out

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