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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. rule — to rule out
  2. branch — a division
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. capital — a city
  6. bore — to drill
  7. rule — a law
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bore — to tire
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ground — a position
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chest — a box
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. clip — to cut
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. capital — money
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. clip — a video
  23. branch — of a bank
  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