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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — to cut
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — in music
  8. race — a contest
  9. rule — a law
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. march — music
  13. clip — a video
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. rule — government
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. scale — size or range
  20. race — humankind
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. shower — to wash
  24. race — the arms race

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