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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. pass — a permit
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. craft — boats
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. ball — a great time
  7. field — for sport
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. field — a subject
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. craft — a skill
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. ball — a dance
  17. spring — of water
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. field — farmland
  21. clip — a video
  22. spring — the season
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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