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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. squash — to crush
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. clip — a video
  6. game — a match
  7. wound — an injury
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. object — to protest
  17. clip — to cut
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rule — government
  21. squash — the sport
  22. object — a thing
  23. clip — for paper
  24. object — an aim

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