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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · cell · clip · rule · board · last

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cell — a phone
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. present — there
  10. clip — a video
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. board — a committee
  14. present — the time now
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — government
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece

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