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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. board — to get on
  3. season — in sport
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. clip — a video
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. field — for sport
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bound — obliged
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bound — certain
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. board — a committee
  17. season — of the year
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — to cut
  20. field — farmland
  21. bound — tied together
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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