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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. mate — a friend
  5. saw — the tool
  6. game — a match
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mate — to breed
  16. rule — government
  17. saw — the tool
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. tear — to rip

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