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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. spring — the season
  3. rule — a law
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. rule — government
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. land — a country
  11. spring — of water
  12. land — to come down
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. clip — for paper
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. land — ground
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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