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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bass — low music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. staff — a stick
  6. clip — for paper
  7. field — farmland
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. clip — a video
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. tube — a container
  12. clip — to cut
  13. plane — a tool
  14. staff — employees
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. tube — the underground
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. staff — employees
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. field — for sport

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