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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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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 · rule · rest · cold · season · last · safe · object

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. season — of the year
  4. last — final
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. season — in sport
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. last — to go on
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rule — government
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — finally
  13. cold — not warm
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. object — to protest
  16. cold — an illness
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. rest — a break
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rest — what's left
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rule — a law
  23. object — an aim
  24. rest — what's left

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