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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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. swing — music
  4. clip — a video
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rule — a law
  7. snap — to click
  8. present — a gift
  9. bark — to shout
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. swing — to play on
  16. squash — to crush
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. present — the time now
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. present — there
  23. swing — in golf
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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