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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pitch — completely
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. spring — the season
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. rash — a series
  14. clip — a video
  15. rule — a law
  16. rash — hasty
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spring — a coil
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. rule — government
  24. spring — of water

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