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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. roll — a cake
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tube — the underground
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. craft — boats
  8. object — a thing
  9. tube — a container
  10. lean — thin
  11. field — a subject
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. object — to protest
  16. craft — a skill
  17. object — an aim
  18. clip — for paper
  19. field — farmland
  20. clip — a video
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. roll — a list

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