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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: lean · rule · kid · clip · content · present

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lean — to bend
  3. clip — for paper
  4. present — the time now
  5. rule — a law
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. present — a gift
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. kid — child
  10. rule — government
  11. present — there
  12. content — the amount
  13. lean — thin
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. clip — a video
  18. content — happy

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