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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. clip — a video
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pop — music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pop — to visit
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. chest — a box
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rule — a law
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. tube — a container
  22. pop — soda
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rule — government

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