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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. court — of law
  3. clip — to cut
  4. squash — the sport
  5. fine — all right
  6. land — to come down
  7. court — of a king
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. land — ground
  11. rule — government
  12. squash — to crush
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. rule — a law
  17. clip — a video
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. fine — high quality
  23. land — a country
  24. court — for sport

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