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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. ground — a position
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. saw — the tool
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pop — soda
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rule — government
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. ground — the earth
  15. clip — a video
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pop — music
  18. clip — for paper
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. saw — the tool
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. rule — a law
  24. pop — to visit

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