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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.

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: face · jam · spell · bowl · capital · rule · mine · clip

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. clip — to cut
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. face — to confront
  6. spell — letters
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rule — government
  14. clip — a video
  15. spell — magic
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. capital — a city
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. rule — a law
  23. capital — money
  24. mine — belonging to me

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