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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. clip — to cut
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. field — a subject
  6. clip — a video
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. field — for sport
  9. toast — bread
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. field — farmland
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. clip — for paper
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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