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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cue — a signal
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. face — part of the head
  7. clip — a video
  8. cue — a hint
  9. face — to point toward
  10. file — a tool
  11. court — of law
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. clip — to cut
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cue — for pool
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. file — a document
  20. court — for sport
  21. rule — government
  22. court — of a king
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. rule — a law

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