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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. ground — crushed
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. clip — to cut
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bear — the animal
  24. clip — a video

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