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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: rule · court · chest · key · clip · sharp · staff · face

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — a video
  3. staff — a stick
  4. court — of law
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. court — of a king
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. chest — of your body
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rule — government
  11. face — to confront
  12. staff — employees
  13. chest — a box
  14. staff — employees
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — a law
  19. sharp — clever
  20. face — part of the head
  21. clip — for paper
  22. key — the most important part
  23. court — for sport
  24. rule — to rule out

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