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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. march — music
  3. cap — a hat
  4. clip — to cut
  5. march — the month
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cap — of ice
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. rule — government
  10. clip — for paper
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. rule — a law
  14. cap — a lid
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. march — the month
  18. mine — for digging
  19. face — to confront
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. clip — a video
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. face — part of the head

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