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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: hide · game · hand · can · last · clip · mine · lie

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. game — a match
  3. can — a tin
  4. last — final
  5. clip — for paper
  6. can — to be able to
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. clip — to cut
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. last — to go on
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. clip — a video
  15. can — a tin
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. hand — in cards
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mine — for digging
  24. hand — help

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