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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: lie · cell · cabinet · clip · wind · rash · snap · key

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. clip — a video
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. key — in music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cell — in biology
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. snap — to click
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. lie — to recline
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wind — moving air
  19. key — for a lock
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wind — moving air
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rash — a series
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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