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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. hand — help
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. object — to protest
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rule — government
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. object — an aim
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bank — for money
  16. cold — an illness
  17. object — a thing
  18. bank — for money
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bank — of a river
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cold — not warm
  23. hand — part of the body
  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