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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 120 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. field — a subject
  3. key — the most important part
  4. saw — the tool
  5. key — in music
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. clip — to cut
  12. field — for sport
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. clip — for paper
  15. field — farmland
  16. saw — the tool
  17. key — for a lock
  18. clip — a video

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