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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. rule — government
  5. mug — a face
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rule — a law
  8. mug — a cup
  9. chip — to eat
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. spell — magic
  12. game — wild animals
  13. chip — for betting
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. shower — rain
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. spell — letters
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mug — to rob

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