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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. ground — crushed
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. clip — a video
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lean — to bend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. race — the arms race
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. race — humankind
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mate — to breed
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. race — a contest
  21. ground — a position
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. mate — a friend
  24. lean — thin

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