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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. suit — to fit
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. clip — for paper
  7. spring — of water
  8. fall — to drop
  9. court — of a king
  10. suit — clothes
  11. stem — to come from
  12. fall — the season
  13. court — of law
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. spring — the season
  18. rule — a law
  19. suit — in cards
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — a video
  22. content — the amount
  23. court — for sport
  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