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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: face · content · mark · clip · cell · pop · hide · ball

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mark — a trace
  9. face — part of the head
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. content — the amount
  13. mark — a grade
  14. clip — for paper
  15. content — happy
  16. cell — in biology
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — soda
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. clip — a video
  24. pop — music

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