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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rule — a law
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. mate — a friend
  6. saw — the tool
  7. last — final
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. last — finally
  10. pitch — completely
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. mate — to breed
  13. craft — boats
  14. clip — a video
  15. saw — the tool
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. last — to go on
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. craft — a skill

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