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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. rule — a law
  5. clip — to cut
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. race — a contest
  9. prune — to trim
  10. land — to come down
  11. clip — a video
  12. mug — to rob
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. capital — a city
  16. mug — a face
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mug — a cup
  20. prune — to trim
  21. race — humankind
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. capital — money

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