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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: game · firm · hide · roll · wound · cell · cap · clip

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. game — wild animals
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cell — a phone
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. game — a match
  7. roll — a cake
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — in biology
  10. firm — a company
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cap — a hat
  15. clip — a video
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. firm — decided
  19. roll — a list
  20. wound — an injury
  21. firm — steady
  22. cap — of ice
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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