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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. perch — the fish
  7. clip — for paper
  8. field — for sport
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. spell — magic
  12. field — a subject
  13. pitch — completely
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. track — to keep track
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. track — a song
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rush — hurry
  23. spell — letters
  24. track — a path

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