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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  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. object — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. scale — size or range
  4. clip — to cut
  5. scale — in music
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. object — an aim
  11. press — to push
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pound — a weight
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. press — a publisher
  18. field — farmland
  19. press — newspapers
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. clip — a video
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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