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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rule — a law
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rule — government
  7. clip — a video
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. capital — money
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. hand — help

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