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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. club — for golf
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. drill — a practice
  14. rush — hurry
  15. field — a subject
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for dancing
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. field — for sport
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. clip — for paper

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