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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bank — for money
  3. rule — a law
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bank — of a river
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bank — for money
  14. fall — to drop
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. game — wild animals
  18. rule — government
  19. ground — crushed
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. ground — the earth
  22. game — a match
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. fall — the season

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