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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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Word bank
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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. spell — magic
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — farmland
  8. rash — a series
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — for sport
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rash — hasty
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. spell — letters
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. racket — a loud noise

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