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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. rule — government
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. clip — for paper
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. track — a song
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. squash — to crush
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rule — a law
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. snap — to click
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. track — a path
  24. bat — the animal

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