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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. spell — magic
  3. object — to protest
  4. object — an aim
  5. pop — to visit
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rule — government
  10. object — a thing
  11. spell — letters
  12. pop — soda
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pop — music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bat — the animal
  17. spell — a short time
  18. clip — a video
  19. rock — music
  20. clip — for paper
  21. field — a subject
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rule — a law
  24. bat — for baseball

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