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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 116 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: bowl · clip · squash · face · mouse · wind · cell · kid

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. squash — the sport
  7. face — to confront
  8. kid — child
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cell — in biology
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. wind — moving air

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