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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. rest — a break
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rule — a law
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. stand — to bear
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rule — government
  12. row — to paddle
  13. hand — help
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. clip — a video
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. deal — to handle
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stand — for spectators

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