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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. clip — a video
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. rule — government
  9. net — after costs
  10. spring — of water
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. net — for catching
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. spring — a coil
  16. net — in sport
  17. rash — a series
  18. mate — a partner
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. squash — the sport
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rule — a law
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spring — the season

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