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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. capital — money
  4. object — an aim
  5. content — the amount
  6. object — a thing
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. field — a subject
  9. drill — a practice
  10. field — for sport
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. clip — a video
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. drill — army training
  17. content — happy
  18. wound — an injury
  19. drill — the tool
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wound — an injury
  22. object — to protest
  23. capital — a city
  24. field — farmland

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