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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. court — of law
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wound — an injury
  7. clip — a video
  8. object — a thing
  9. file — a document
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. court — of a king
  13. file — a line of people
  14. object — to protest
  15. court — for sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. rule — a law
  18. file — a tool
  19. object — an aim
  20. saw — the tool
  21. season — in sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rule — government

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