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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mine — for digging
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. clip — a video
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stem — to come from
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. coach — a trainer

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