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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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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 · perch · land · kick · cell · pass · clip · staff

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. staff — employees
  3. face — to point toward
  4. clip — a video
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. land — a country
  7. perch — the fish
  8. land — to come down
  9. face — to confront
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. land — ground
  13. cell — a phone
  14. kick — in football
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. pass — a permit
  24. face — part of the head

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