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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. clip — for paper
  3. field — a subject
  4. rule — government
  5. cue — for pool
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spring — a coil
  8. clip — a video
  9. cue — a hint
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. rest — what's left
  14. field — for sport
  15. cue — a signal
  16. field — farmland
  17. spring — the season
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. rule — a law
  22. rest — what's left
  23. spring — of water
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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