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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. clip — a video
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rule — a law
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. spell — letters
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. spell — magic
  19. stem — to come from
  20. game — wild animals
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. game — a match
  24. wake — a trail

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