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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rule — government
  4. pit — a hole
  5. file — a document
  6. tear — from crying
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. file — a line of people
  9. tear — from crying
  10. clip — a video
  11. court — for sport
  12. pit — in a race
  13. clip — for paper
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. rule — a law
  16. court — of a king
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. deal — to handle
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. file — a tool
  24. clip — to cut

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