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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. spell — magic
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rule — government
  11. spell — letters
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rule — a law
  14. face — part of the head
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. spring — of water
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. face — to confront
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. kick — in football

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