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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. field — a subject
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. clip — a video
  7. mug — a cup
  8. field — for sport
  9. rash — a series
  10. clip — to cut
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. row — to paddle
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mug — a face
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. field — farmland

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