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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rule — a law
  3. object — a thing
  4. game — a match
  5. clip — a video
  6. lean — to bend
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. net — after costs
  9. object — an aim
  10. rule — government
  11. clip — to cut
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. lean — thin
  15. net — for catching
  16. march — the month
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. net — in sport
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. march — music
  21. game — wild animals
  22. march — the month
  23. object — to protest
  24. rule — to rule out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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