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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. can — to be able to
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. lean — thin
  5. board — a committee
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. saw — the tool
  9. can — a tin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. lean — to bend
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. can — a tin
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. rule — government
  20. board — to get on
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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