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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. row — to paddle
  5. field — for sport
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. rock — a stone
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fine — high quality
  11. clip — a video
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. field — a subject
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. fine — all right
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. march — the month
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. march — the month
  20. row — a line
  21. march — music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rock — music
  24. wind — moving air

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