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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. shower — rain
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — a trail
  11. scale — in music
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. key — the most important part
  14. rule — a law
  15. scale — size or range
  16. clip — a video
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. shower — to wash
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. wind — moving air
  24. key — in music

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