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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rule — government
  4. cue — a hint
  5. clip — for paper
  6. track — a song
  7. cue — a signal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. last — to go on
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. last — final
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. track — to keep track
  15. spring — the season
  16. last — finally
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rule — a law
  20. track — a path
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cue — for pool
  23. rush — hurry
  24. clip — a video

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