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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. land — ground
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rule — a law
  9. cold — an illness
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. land — a country
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. season — in sport
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cue — for pool
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. rule — government
  22. season — of the year
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. land — to come down

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