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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: clip · stem · bound · coach · pitcher · hide · cabinet · net

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. net — after costs
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — in sport
  8. bound — certain
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. clip — for paper
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bound — tied together
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. clip — a video
  19. stem — to come from
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. net — for catching

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