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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. field — a subject
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mate — a partner
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. land — a country
  10. clip — a video
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. toast — bread
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — all right
  17. land — ground
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. clip — to cut
  21. land — to come down
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — hurry
  24. clip — for paper

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