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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: nail · rock · clip · ground · bay · coach · lie · fine

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. fine — all right
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. rock — music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — a video
  16. rock — a stone
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. clip — to cut
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — to recline
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ground — the earth

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