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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: root · land · cold · coach · clip · nail · stand · saw

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. saw — the tool
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. clip — for paper
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. root — of a plant
  14. land — a country
  15. root — of a word
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. land — ground
  22. land — to come down
  23. root — the cause
  24. cold — an illness

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