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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. clip — a video
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. rule — a law
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. degree — temperature
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bowl — to roll

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