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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: clip · cold · rule · wind · cap · safe

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cap — a lid
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rule — a law
  10. cap — of ice
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. clip — a video
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper

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