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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: stick · face · clip · spring · drill · rule · content · trunk

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. spring — a coil
  4. face — to confront
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. spring — of water
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. drill — the tool
  13. rule — a law
  14. content — happy
  15. face — to point toward
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. spring — the season
  21. rule — government
  22. clip — a video
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. content — the amount

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