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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · squash · clip · suit · rest · cell

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. suit — in cards
  3. squash — to crush
  4. rest — a break
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cell — a phone
  8. squash — the sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rest — what's left
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. suit — clothes
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rest — what's left
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. rule — government

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