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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.

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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 · rest · lean · cabinet · rush · field · hand · bowl

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rest — a break
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. field — for sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — a video
  13. hand — in cards
  14. field — farmland
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. rest — what's left
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. hand — help
  21. field — a subject
  22. lean — thin
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. hand — part of the body

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