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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. file — a tool
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. clip — a video
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stem — to come from
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cap — a hat
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cap — of ice
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bound — tied together
  14. clip — to cut
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — for paper
  17. file — a document
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. band — a music group
  22. bound — certain
  23. band — a ring
  24. bound — obliged

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