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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — a law
  3. clip — to cut
  4. file — a tool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — for dancing
  8. file — a document
  9. club — a group
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. file — a line of people
  12. date — the fruit
  13. lean — thin
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rule — government
  17. dip — to sink
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — to bend
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. clip — a video
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. date — on the calendar

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