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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. game — wild animals
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. rule — a law
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. saw — the tool
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. clip — a video
  13. rule — government
  14. cell — in biology
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cell — a phone
  17. game — a match
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. shower — rain

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