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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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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: chest · lie · wave · racket · rule · mark · clip · cell

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lie — to recline
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. rule — a law
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cell — a phone
  15. chest — a box
  16. mark — a grade
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rule — government
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. mark — a trace
  21. cell — in biology
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. clip — a video
  24. cell — in a prison

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