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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: plane · hide · clip · content · cell · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. clip — a video
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. content — happy
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. content — the amount
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cell — a phone
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cell — in biology
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. plane — a tool
  18. content — videos and posts

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