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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: race · rule · straw · cabinet · hide · clip · prune · game

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. prune — to trim
  4. game — a match
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. clip — a video
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. race — humankind
  10. prune — to trim
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. race — a contest
  17. rule — government
  18. clip — for paper
  19. race — the arms race
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. rule — a law

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