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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 · leaves · chair · rest · kid · clip · bulb

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. clip — for paper
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rest — what's left
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. squash — the sport
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — to tease
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rest — a break
  17. clip — a video
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. kid — child

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