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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rock — music
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. rule — a law
  9. object — to protest
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — a thing
  13. rule — government
  14. file — a tool
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — to cut
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. file — a document
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. board — a committee
  24. hand — in cards

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