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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 116 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: cold · can · hide · land · clip · saw · mouse · ground

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. cold — not warm
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. land — a country
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ground — a position
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. can — to be able to
  15. clip — a video
  16. land — to come down
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. land — ground
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. ground — the earth
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. mouse — the animal
  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