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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — to cut
  4. field — a subject
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fall — the season
  7. field — farmland
  8. prune — to trim
  9. toast — bread
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bore — to drill
  13. mate — to breed
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — a friend
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. clip — a video
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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