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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · wake · clip · spring · cold · stand · chip · plane

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. clip — for paper
  3. chip — for betting
  4. wake — a trail
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stand — to bear
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cold — not warm
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. plane — a tool
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. clip — a video
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cold — an illness
  19. spring — a coil
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cold — the Cold War

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