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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. clip — for paper
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. saw — the tool
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cold — not warm
  10. club — a group
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. club — for dancing
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. lie — to recline
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. clip — a video
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. club — for golf
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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