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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. land — ground
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stand — to bear
  13. land — a country
  14. clip — a video
  15. bat — the animal
  16. land — to come down
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cell — in biology

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