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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — a law
  3. file — a line of people
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cap — a lid
  8. file — a document
  9. clip — a video
  10. cap — a hat
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cap — of ice
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. file — a tool

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