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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stock — shares
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. track — to keep track
  9. shower — rain
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. prune — to trim
  12. track — a path
  13. stock — goods
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. shower — to wash
  19. clip — to cut
  20. track — a song
  21. rule — a law
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — a video
  24. prune — to trim

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