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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 120 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: cell · board · rule · kid · rush · can · clip · hide

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cell — a phone
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. can — a tin
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. can — to be able to
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. rule — government
  11. can — a tin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. board — to get on
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. clip — a video
  16. cell — in biology
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rush — hurry

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