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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: cabinet · land · firm · hide · mine · race · fork · wound

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — a country
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. firm — decided
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. firm — a company
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. race — humankind
  14. mine — for digging
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. firm — steady
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. race — a contest
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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