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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: ball · ruler · clip · temple · ground · spring · content · kick

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. spring — the season
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. ball — a great time
  7. spring — of water
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. ground — crushed
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. content — the amount
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kick — in football
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ground — a position
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ground — the earth
  22. content — happy
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. spring — a coil

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