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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: hide · cabinet · rush · clip · ground · season · capital · stem

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. clip — a video
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. season — in sport
  7. stem — to come from
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. clip — to cut
  16. season — of the year
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. clip — for paper
  21. capital — a city
  22. ground — crushed
  23. capital — money
  24. rush — hurry

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