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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. kick — in football
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lie — to recline
  6. clip — to cut
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. face — to point toward
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. face — to confront
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. shower — to wash
  16. face — part of the head
  17. content — happy
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rule — a law
  21. clip — a video
  22. shower — rain
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. rule — government

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