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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 got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  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. mark — a grade
  2. file — a document
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. clip — a video
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. mark — a trace
  7. file — a tool
  8. hand — help
  9. file — a line of people
  10. field — farmland
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — for sport
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. clip — to cut
  16. hand — in cards
  17. field — a subject
  18. toast — bread
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mark — to pay attention
  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