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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. clip — a video
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rule — a law
  5. clip — for paper
  6. plane — a tool
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mate — a friend
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. snap — to click
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mate — a partner
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rule — government
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. spring — of water
  21. mate — to breed
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spring — the season

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