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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 120 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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. mug — to rob
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mug — a cup
  7. fine — high quality
  8. rule — a law
  9. season — in sport
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chest — a box
  12. fine — all right
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rule — government
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. clip — a video
  18. mug — a face
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. season — of the year
  24. rush — hurry

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