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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — for paper
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rule — a law
  6. race — a contest
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. race — the arms race
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. race — humankind
  11. capital — money
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — a city
  16. wake — a trail
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. perch — the fish

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