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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mark · ruler · pit · hide · tube · field · clip · row

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. field — farmland
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. clip — a video
  5. field — a subject
  6. tube — the underground
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. mark — a trace
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — in a race
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. tube — a container
  16. clip — to cut
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. row — a line
  22. field — for sport
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. mark — a grade

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