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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. clip — a video
  5. field — for sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. kick — in football
  12. lean — thin
  13. clip — to cut
  14. lean — to bend
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. field — a subject
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. degree — an amount
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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