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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rock — music
  3. spell — magic
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. rock — a stone
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. stand — to bear
  10. spell — letters
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. field — for sport
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. clip — for paper
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. spell — a short time
  21. clip — a video
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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