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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rock — music
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. clip — a video
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fall — the season
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rock — a stone
  21. chip — to eat
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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