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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 124 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. present — the time now
  4. row — to paddle
  5. club — for golf
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. club — for dancing
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. row — a line
  11. present — a gift
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — a law
  18. club — a group
  19. chest — a box
  20. prune — to trim
  21. clip — a video
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. present — there

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