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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 an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. ground — crushed
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. clip — for paper
  8. hand — help
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. snap — to click
  11. ground — a position
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. field — farmland
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. field — for sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. clip — a video
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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