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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bat — the animal
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. drill — the tool
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. drill — army training
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rash — a series
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. drill — a practice
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rash — hasty
  22. court — of law
  23. rule — a law
  24. clip — a video

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