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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 120 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: rule · bore · wind · clip · row · bat · rock · safe

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bore — to drill
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bat — the animal
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wind — moving air
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. rule — a law
  16. row — a line
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — music
  21. clip — a video
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. wind — moving air

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