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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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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. field — a subject
  3. clip — to cut
  4. field — for sport
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. clip — a video
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. kid — to tease
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. kid — child
  16. field — farmland
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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