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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. clip — to cut
  4. field — farmland
  5. swing — music
  6. bound — tied together
  7. swing — in golf
  8. field — for sport
  9. bound — obliged
  10. clip — a video
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. field — a subject
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bound — certain
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. swing — to play on
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. fine — high quality

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