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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. clip — to cut
  3. field — a subject
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. suit — in cards
  6. net — in sport
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. suit — clothes
  9. face — to confront
  10. net — for catching
  11. face — part of the head
  12. suit — to fit
  13. field — for sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. net — after costs
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. clip — a video
  18. face — to point toward

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