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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. rule — a law
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. squash — the sport
  8. clip — for paper
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. face — part of the head
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. present — the time now
  18. clip — a video
  19. face — to confront
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cell — in biology
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. face — to point toward
  24. row — a line

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