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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. club — for golf
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rule — government
  9. mate — a friend
  10. rule — a law
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mate — to breed
  15. fork — in a road
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. face — part of the head
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. face — to confront
  23. mate — a partner
  24. calf — a young animal

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