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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. field — farmland
  3. firm — steady
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. firm — a company
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. clip — a video
  11. mark — a grade
  12. field — for sport
  13. firm — decided
  14. clip — for paper
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — a subject
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. clip — to cut
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cell — a phone
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. mark — a trace

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