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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 116 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: mate · row · ball · ground · cell · hide · stick · clip

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. row — to paddle
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cell — in biology
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ground — a position
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cell — a phone
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. ball — a dance
  22. clip — a video
  23. row — a line
  24. ball — a round shape

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