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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. cap — a lid
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. land — a country
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cap — a hat
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. root — the cause
  15. clip — a video
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cap — of ice
  19. land — ground
  20. clip — to cut
  21. root — of a word
  22. tear — from crying
  23. root — of a plant
  24. land — to come down

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