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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pit — in a race
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a great time
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. field — farmland
  7. land — to come down
  8. season — of the year
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. land — ground
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. lean — to bend
  14. clip — to cut
  15. season — in sport
  16. field — for sport
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — government
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. field — a subject
  21. land — a country
  22. lean — thin
  23. pit — a hole
  24. clip — a video

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