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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 · coach · wake · ground · object · pit · hide · kid

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. ground — crushed
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. clip — a video
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pit — in a race
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. object — to protest
  10. ground — a position
  11. kid — child
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wake — a trail
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — a thing
  20. pit — a hole
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. kid — to tease

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