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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. tear — from crying
  3. clip — a video
  4. swing — music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. swing — to play on
  9. present — the time now
  10. tear — to rip
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. present — a gift
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. swing — in golf
  17. clip — for paper
  18. field — a subject
  19. present — there
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. field — for sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. vault — a safe

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