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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rule · face · mate · mine · stock · clip · wave · scale

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. face — to confront
  3. mate — a friend
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mate — to breed
  11. scale — in music
  12. face — to point toward
  13. scale — size or range
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rule — government
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. clip — a video
  19. stock — goods
  20. rule — a law
  21. face — part of the head
  22. stock — shares
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. stock — a soup base

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