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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. firm — decided
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — steady
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — for sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. foot — a measure
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. wind — moving air
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. foot — part of the body

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