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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rule — government
  4. hand — help
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. clip — a video
  7. rule — a law
  8. clip — for paper
  9. object — to protest
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. court — of law
  15. mine — for digging
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. court — of a king
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — low music
  23. court — for sport
  24. mine — an explosive

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