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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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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 · object · clip · craft · wake · fan · stem · field

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stem — to come from
  3. field — farmland
  4. craft — a skill
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. clip — to cut
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. object — a thing
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. clip — a video
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. field — a subject
  16. craft — boats
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. object — to protest
  19. field — for sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wake — a trail
  23. object — an aim
  24. craft — a handicraft

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