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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. plane — a tool
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — music
  9. land — to come down
  10. rule — a law
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. land — a country
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — ground
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cap — of ice
  18. sharp — clever
  19. clip — to cut
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. rock — a stone
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. shower — rain
  24. rule — government

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