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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. spring — the season
  3. clip — for paper
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bear — the animal
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. clip — a video
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. spring — of water
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. kid — to tease
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. kid — child
  20. bear — the animal
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. clip — to cut
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. hide — to keep secret

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