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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 124 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rule — government
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rule — a law
  7. firm — steady
  8. clip — for paper
  9. degree — from a university
  10. hand — help
  11. degree — an amount
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rock — a stone
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. firm — decided
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pass — a permit
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. firm — a company

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