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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. clip — a video
  6. field — farmland
  7. fine — high quality
  8. spell — magic
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spell — letters
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. game — a match
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. field — for sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. field — a subject
  19. game — wild animals
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. spell — a short time
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fine — all right

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