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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rule — a law
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. kid — child
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. spring — the season
  8. clip — a video
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rule — government
  12. content — happy
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. season — in sport
  15. clip — to cut
  16. plane — a tool
  17. kid — to tease
  18. spring — of water
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. season — of the year

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