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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rule — a law
  6. kid — child
  7. rule — government
  8. kid — to tease
  9. club — a group
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. club — for golf
  12. present — there
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. club — for dancing
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mate — a friend
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. mate — to breed
  20. present — a gift
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. present — the time now
  24. mine — for digging

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