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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cue — a signal
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. land — to come down
  11. face — to confront
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rule — a law
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. land — ground
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. cue — a hint
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. cue — for pool
  22. rule — government
  23. land — a country
  24. pass — a permit

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