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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. lean — thin
  3. rule — a law
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. clip — a video
  6. chest — of your body
  7. clip — for paper
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. season — in sport
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a great time
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. clip — to cut
  17. vault — a safe
  18. season — of the year
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chest — a box
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. ball — a dance

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