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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: rule · date · object · hide · snap · lean · clip · bat

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. snap — to click
  5. bat — the animal
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. lean — to bend
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. date — the fruit
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — to protest
  16. rule — government
  17. object — a thing
  18. lean — thin
  19. rule — a law
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. clip — a video

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