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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ground · clip · game · hide · temple · fall · coach · fine

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. fall — to drop
  3. ground — the earth
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. fine — high quality
  8. clip — a video
  9. game — a match
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fall — the season
  15. fine — all right
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — wild animals
  21. ground — a position
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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