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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. object — an aim
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. rule — government
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. clip — a video
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. rule — a law
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. object — to protest
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. object — a thing

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