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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 120 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: fall · drill · arm · hide · bound · clip · wake · stem

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. fall — the season
  4. stem — to come from
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. clip — for paper
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bound — tied together
  9. drill — army training
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bound — obliged
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bound — certain
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. fall — to drop
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. clip — a video
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. wake — a trail
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. clip — to cut

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