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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. ball — a dance
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rush — hurry
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a great time
  11. clip — a video
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. field — farmland
  14. deal — to handle
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bear — the animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. snap — to click
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. field — a subject
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. clip — to cut

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