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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. clip — for paper
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rash — a series
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rule — government
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. clip — a video
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. craft — boats
  16. clip — to cut
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. rash — hasty
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. rule — a law
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wind — moving air

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