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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. fall — the season
  6. spring — the season
  7. rule — government
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. clip — a video
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. spring — of water
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rule — a law
  21. pitch — completely
  22. cell — a phone
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rule — to rule out

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