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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pop — to visit
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. craft — a skill
  5. clip — to cut
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. craft — boats
  15. cell — in biology
  16. kid — child
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. row — a line
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pop — soda
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. pop — music
  24. row — a quarrel

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