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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
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: content · clip · ruler · field · face · kick · mine · current

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. kick — in football
  13. content — the amount
  14. face — part of the head
  15. current — of water
  16. face — to point toward
  17. clip — for paper
  18. face — to confront
  19. current — happening now
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. content — happy
  22. field — a subject
  23. clip — a video
  24. ruler — a monarch

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