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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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468
Word bank
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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rule — a law
  4. clip — a video
  5. cue — a signal
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a hint
  13. rash — a series
  14. land — ground
  15. rash — hasty
  16. land — a country
  17. degree — from a university
  18. staff — employees
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. degree — an amount
  21. land — to come down
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. clip — for paper
  24. degree — temperature

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