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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. clip — a video
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ball — a dance
  7. game — wild animals
  8. clip — to cut
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. ball — a great time
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. bore — to drill
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rule — government
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. rule — a law
  20. bore — to tire
  21. file — a document
  22. field — for sport
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bore — gave birth

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