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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. ground — a position
  3. rule — a law
  4. row — a line
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rush — hurry
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. rule — government
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wound — an injury
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. stock — goods
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — shares
  20. clip — a video
  21. wound — an injury
  22. ground — crushed
  23. march — music
  24. clip — to cut

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