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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: spring · hide · clip · rule · face · mug · patient · kid

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. clip — a video
  4. kid — child
  5. spring — of water
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. face — part of the head
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mug — a cup
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a face
  13. spring — the season
  14. rule — government
  15. kid — to tease
  16. face — to point toward
  17. spring — a coil
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — a law
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. face — to confront
  24. hide — to keep secret

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