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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. ground — a position
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. ground — the earth
  7. roll — a list
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. clip — a video
  11. field — a subject
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. ground — crushed
  15. field — for sport
  16. fork — in a road
  17. clip — to cut
  18. field — farmland
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. chair — a leader
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. roll — a cake

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