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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. game — wild animals
  3. file — a tool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rule — a law
  10. squash — the sport
  11. clip — a video
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. file — a document
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. clip — for paper
  18. file — a line of people
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. rule — government
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. current — electric

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