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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. clip — for paper
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pop — music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pop — soda
  13. snap — to click
  14. suit — in cards
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. field — for sport
  17. clip — a video
  18. field — a subject
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. suit — to fit
  23. suit — clothes
  24. wake — a trail

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