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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. rule — government
  4. clip — to cut
  5. current — electric
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. object — an aim
  8. game — a match
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. current — happening now
  11. object — a thing
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rule — a law
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. clip — a video
  16. object — to protest
  17. current — of water
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — completely
  20. fork — in a road
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. game — wild animals
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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