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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.

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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mark — a grade
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. degree — temperature
  12. clip — a video
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stem — to come from
  21. lie — to recline
  22. clip — to cut
  23. degree — from a university
  24. file — a document

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