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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: clip · staff · shower · track · hide · bay · mug · wound

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. staff — employees
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. track — a path
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. staff — a stick
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. shower — rain
  14. mug — a cup
  15. staff — employees
  16. shower — to wash
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mug — to rob
  19. track — a song
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mug — a face
  22. track — to keep track
  23. clip — a video
  24. wound — an injury

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