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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rule — government
  4. board — a committee
  5. game — wild animals
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. tear — from crying
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. mug — a face
  17. game — a match
  18. board — to get on
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. mug — a cup
  23. clip — a video
  24. rule — a law

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