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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 had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. cold — not warm
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rule — government
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cold — an illness
  9. clip — to cut
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. face — to confront
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. clip — a video
  16. pass — a permit
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rule — a law

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