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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: rule · wound · staff · cap · face · clip · wave · field

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. staff — a stick
  3. face — to confront
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. field — farmland
  10. face — to point toward
  11. clip — to cut
  12. field — a subject
  13. rule — a law
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. clip — a video
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rule — government
  18. wound — an injury
  19. staff — employees
  20. cap — a hat
  21. field — for sport
  22. face — part of the head
  23. staff — employees
  24. clip — for paper

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