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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 116 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. perch — the fish
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. object — a thing
  5. fine — all right
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tube — a container
  10. object — an aim
  11. rule — government
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. clip — a video
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fine — high quality
  16. net — for catching
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. net — after costs
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rule — a law
  21. object — to protest
  22. net — in sport
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. perch — for a bird

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