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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. spell — a short time
  5. net — after costs
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — magic
  8. land — to come down
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. net — for catching
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. clip — to cut
  14. net — in sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. clip — for paper
  18. land — a country
  19. mate — to breed
  20. land — ground
  21. mate — a partner
  22. branch — a division
  23. rule — a law
  24. mate — a friend

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