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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. present — a gift
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. present — there
  5. clip — a video
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. field — a subject
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cell — in biology
  13. field — for sport
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. clip — to cut
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cell — a phone
  18. present — the time now

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