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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 · stem · coach · hide · ruler · bear · chest · current

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. current — of water
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. clip — for paper
  10. current — electric
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. current — happening now
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. clip — a video
  24. bear — to put up with

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