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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · ground · face · prune · rash · saw · cell · cabinet

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rash — a series
  3. ground — a position
  4. cell — a phone
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. face — to confront
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. face — to point toward
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. saw — the tool
  20. face — part of the head
  21. rash — hasty
  22. prune — to trim
  23. clip — a video
  24. prune — to trim

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