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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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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: clip · bark · rule · cell · cabinet · court

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rule — government
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. rule — a law
  12. court — of a king
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. court — of law
  17. clip — a video
  18. court — for sport

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