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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 124 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rule — government
  3. ball — a great time
  4. clip — for paper
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. scale — size or range
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ball — a dance
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. rule — a law
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. scale — in music
  19. chip — for betting
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. chip — to eat
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. clip — a video

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