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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 116 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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cue — for pool
  4. bore — to tire
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cue — a signal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. clip — to cut
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. snap — to click
  16. clip — a video
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cue — a hint
  21. rule — a law
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bore — to drill
  24. hide — to keep secret

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