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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: stem · stand · nail · mine · clip · hand · racket · bore

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bore — to tire
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stand — to bear
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. hand — help
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. clip — a video
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. stem — to come from
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mine — for digging
  24. stand — on your feet

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