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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. swing — music
  4. lean — thin
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. fine — all right
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. ground — crushed
  10. clip — to cut
  11. swing — in golf
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. fine — high quality
  14. field — farmland
  15. ground — a position
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. clip — a video
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. clip — for paper
  21. swing — to play on
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ground — the earth

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