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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.

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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: cap · rash · ground · clip · mine · cell · bear · ruler

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. clip — to cut
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. clip — a video
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cap — a hat
  8. ground — the earth
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mine — for digging
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cap — a lid
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ground — crushed

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