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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 120 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. field — a subject
  4. clip — a video
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. rush — hurry
  7. kid — child
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. firm — steady
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — to tease
  13. saw — the tool
  14. firm — decided
  15. field — for sport
  16. firm — a company
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. field — farmland
  20. clip — to cut
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. mouse — for a computer

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