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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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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: rule · wind · court · face · mine · clip · scale · mark

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. court — of law
  3. face — to point toward
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mark — a trace
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — a law
  9. mark — a grade
  10. clip — for paper
  11. face — to confront
  12. court — for sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. rule — government
  15. mine — for digging
  16. scale — in music
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. scale — size or range
  23. court — of a king
  24. wind — moving air

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