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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. field — for sport
  3. row — to paddle
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. staff — a stick
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. tube — the underground
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. field — farmland
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. staff — employees
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. row — a line
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. field — a subject
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. tube — a container
  22. staff — employees
  23. pound — a weight
  24. clip — a video

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