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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rash — hasty
  3. clip — a video
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mine — for digging
  7. rule — government
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. clip — for paper
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. rash — a series
  14. vault — a safe
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wake — a trail
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. rule — a law

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