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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. clip — a video
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. rule — a law
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. club — a group
  10. last — final
  11. club — for golf
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. last — to go on
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rule — government
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. clip — to cut
  22. club — for dancing
  23. last — finally
  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