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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 120 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 are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. capital — money
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. clip — a video
  5. rule — government
  6. capital — a city
  7. mate — a partner
  8. march — music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bound — certain
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bound — tied together
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. march — the month
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rush — hurry
  21. march — the month
  22. rule — a law
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rush — to hurry

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