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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. scale — in music
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. race — a contest
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — tied together
  9. scale — size or range
  10. capital — money
  11. race — humankind
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rule — a law
  14. bound — certain
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — a video
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. capital — a city
  22. race — the arms race
  23. rule — government
  24. pound — a weight

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