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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rule — government
  3. spring — the season
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — a law
  6. ground — crushed
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — for paper
  9. ground — the earth
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tear — to rip
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ground — a position
  17. spring — of water
  18. fine — high quality
  19. tear — from crying
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. clip — a video
  23. fine — all right
  24. sharp — clever

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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