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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. land — ground
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. cell — a phone
  7. land — a country
  8. stand — to bear
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. cell — in biology
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — a video
  17. land — to come down
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. ground — a position
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. ground — the earth

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