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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — a law
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stock — shares
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. rule — government
  11. stock — goods
  12. clip — a video
  13. file — a document
  14. pitch — completely
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. file — a tool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. clip — to cut
  22. sharp — clever
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. kick — in football

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