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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. charge — electricity
  4. clip — a video
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. field — a subject
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fork — in a road
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — in control
  14. fall — the season
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. clip — to cut
  17. field — for sport
  18. march — music
  19. foot — a measure
  20. clip — for paper
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. field — farmland

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