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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. field — for sport
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. suit — clothes
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. field — a subject
  13. suit — in cards
  14. field — farmland
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. scale — size or range
  17. suit — to fit
  18. mate — a partner
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chip — to eat
  21. clip — a video
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. scale — in music

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