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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. key — in music
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. key — the most important part
  13. march — music
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — to cut
  19. toast — bread
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. march — the month
  22. key — for a lock
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. field — for sport

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