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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. clip — to cut
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. bulb — for light
  6. foot — a measure
  7. clip — a video
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bulb — for light
  10. field — farmland
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. press — to push
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. press — newspapers
  17. field — for sport
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. press — a publisher
  22. field — a subject
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. clip — for paper

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