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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ground — the earth
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wind — moving air
  15. dip — to sink
  16. ground — a position
  17. cell — in biology
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. band — a ring
  20. ground — crushed
  21. band — a music group
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stem — a stem cell

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