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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. land — ground
  4. rule — government
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. board — a committee
  7. squash — the sport
  8. clip — a video
  9. land — a country
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. court — of law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. clip — for paper
  15. prune — to trim
  16. squash — to crush
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. court — of a king
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. board — to get on
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. land — to come down
  24. mouse — the animal

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