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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. clip — for paper
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. clip — to cut
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. field — for sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kid — child
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. clip — a video
  17. fall — the season
  18. field — farmland

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