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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · stem · board · key · rule · ground · clip · file

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. key — the most important part
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. file — a line of people
  6. stem — to come from
  7. board — to get on
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. clip — a video
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. ground — crushed
  12. key — in music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. rule — government
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee
  19. rule — a law
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. ground — a position
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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