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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: face · kick · clip · shower · rule · toast · ball · chair

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. ball — a great time
  4. rule — government
  5. ball — a dance
  6. toast — bread
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rule — a law
  11. clip — a video
  12. shower — rain
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. face — part of the head
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chair — a leader
  17. clip — to cut
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. clip — for paper
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. chair — a professorship

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