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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mug — a face
  4. object — to protest
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. clip — for paper
  7. object — a thing
  8. mug — a cup
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. object — an aim
  12. cold — not warm
  13. present — the time now
  14. rule — a law
  15. present — a gift
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — government
  19. mug — to rob
  20. dip — to sink
  21. row — a line
  22. present — there
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. clip — a video

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