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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. wake — a trail
  4. chip — for betting
  5. squash — the sport
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rule — a law
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. clip — a video
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chip — to eat
  21. squash — to crush
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. file — a tool

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