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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. mug — a face
  2. game — wild animals
  3. rash — hasty
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mate — to breed
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — for paper
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rule — a law
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mate — a partner
  15. dip — to sink
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. mug — a cup
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  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