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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 116 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. face — part of the head
  6. field — a subject
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. face — to point toward
  11. field — for sport
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wake — a trail
  14. clip — for paper
  15. suit — clothes
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. face — to confront
  18. field — farmland
  19. net — in sport
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. suit — to fit

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