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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. clip — for paper
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. clip — a video
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. rule — government
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. snap — to click

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