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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. rule — government
  4. fine — all right
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. face — part of the head
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. clip — to cut
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rule — a law
  13. bass — low music
  14. face — to confront
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bass — the fish
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. spring — the season
  21. fine — high quality
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. plane — an aircraft

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