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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. drill — army training
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. fine — all right
  5. clip — a video
  6. chest — a box
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stand — to bear
  10. drill — a practice
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. drill — the tool
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fine — high quality
  20. field — farmland
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. fall — the season
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — to lash out

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