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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. clip — a video
  3. rule — a law
  4. clip — for paper
  5. face — to point toward
  6. dip — to sink
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bark — to shout
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. face — to confront
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. face — part of the head
  19. last — finally
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. rule — government
  22. last — to go on
  23. capital — a city
  24. last — final

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