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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. clip — a video
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. clip — for paper
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. field — for sport
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cell — a phone
  19. field — farmland
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. safe — out of danger

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