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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. drill — the tool
  3. row — to paddle
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — for sport
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rule — government
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. band — a ring
  12. rule — a law
  13. drill — army training
  14. field — farmland
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. drill — a practice
  17. field — a subject
  18. pass — a permit
  19. clip — a video
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. band — a music group
  24. kid — child

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