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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rule — government
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rule — a law
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. band — a music group
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. band — a ring
  23. chair — a leader
  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