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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rule — government
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cell — a phone
  8. club — for dancing
  9. clip — a video
  10. rule — a law
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. clip — to cut
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mine — for digging
  16. clip — for paper
  17. club — for golf
  18. can — to be able to
  19. can — a tin
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. club — a group
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. mine — belonging to me

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