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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. tear — from crying
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. mate — to breed
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mate — a friend
  9. clip — a video
  10. squash — the sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rule — a law
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mate — a partner
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. rule — government

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