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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rule — government
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. craft — a skill
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. chip — for betting
  8. clip — to cut
  9. roll — a list
  10. clip — for paper
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. date — the fruit
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. clip — a video
  22. rule — a law
  23. craft — boats
  24. roll — a cake

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