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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 120 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. rest — a break
  3. clip — to cut
  4. march — the month
  5. field — a subject
  6. fall — to drop
  7. season — in sport
  8. rest — what's left
  9. march — music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. field — for sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. lean — thin
  15. rest — what's left
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. field — farmland
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lean — to bend
  22. fall — the season
  23. march — the month
  24. season — of the year

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