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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. clip — a video
  3. track — a path
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rash — a series
  7. court — for sport
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. clip — for paper
  12. track — a song
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rule — a law
  18. kick — in football
  19. cap — a lid
  20. rule — government
  21. track — to keep track
  22. court — of a king
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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