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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: hand · ball · lie · spell · ruler · roll · present · clip

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. spell — magic
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ball — a dance
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. ball — a great time
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. clip — a video
  10. present — the time now
  11. spell — a short time
  12. clip — to cut
  13. roll — a list
  14. roll — a cake
  15. hand — help
  16. spell — letters
  17. lie — to recline
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. hand — in cards
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. clip — for paper
  24. present — there

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