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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. rest — what's left
  4. field — a subject
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. cap — of ice
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cap — a lid
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — an amount
  18. clip — a video
  19. rest — a break
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. rest — what's left
  22. degree — temperature
  23. clip — for paper
  24. safe — a strongbox

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