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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bound — tied together
  3. rule — a law
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rule — government
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. kick — in football
  14. clip — a video
  15. bound — certain
  16. field — for sport
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. clip — to cut
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. bound — obliged
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. branch — a division

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