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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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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fine — high quality
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. stem — to come from
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. rule — government
  14. spring — the season
  15. hand — help
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. clip — a video
  19. spring — of water
  20. fine — all right
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. hand — in cards
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rule — a law

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