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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mate — to breed
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. last — finally
  6. mate — a friend
  7. last — to go on
  8. rule — a law
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. last — final
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mate — a partner
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. shower — to wash
  23. craft — boats
  24. calf — of the leg

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