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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. drill — the tool
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rush — hurry
  10. track — a song
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. drill — a practice
  14. rule — government
  15. saw — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rule — a law
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. clip — a video
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. saw — the tool
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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