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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rash — hasty
  4. object — to protest
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rule — a law
  8. object — a thing
  9. clip — a video
  10. object — an aim
  11. ground — crushed
  12. rule — government
  13. ground — the earth
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rash — a series

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