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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. spring — a coil
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. kid — to tease
  5. spring — of water
  6. bound — certain
  7. content — the amount
  8. object — to protest
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. clip — a video
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bound — obliged
  16. face — to confront
  17. rule — a law
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. content — happy
  21. spring — the season
  22. rule — government
  23. bound — tied together
  24. object — an aim

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