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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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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: file · clip · race · stem · deal · wind · hide · rule

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — to handle
  4. race — humankind
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. stem — to come from
  7. file — a document
  8. rule — government
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — for paper
  12. race — a contest
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — a law
  18. race — the arms race
  19. file — a line of people
  20. clip — a video
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. file — a tool
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stem — a stem cell

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