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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. clip — a video
  3. band — a ring
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. bore — to tire
  7. clip — to cut
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. foot — a measure
  11. craft — boats
  12. bore — to drill
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. band — a music group
  15. field — a subject
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. craft — a skill
  18. last — finally
  19. field — farmland
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. last — final
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. field — for sport
  24. clip — for paper

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