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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. field — farmland
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. field — for sport
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. wind — moving air
  13. toast — bread
  14. vault — a safe
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. clip — for paper
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. clip — a video
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. hand — in cards

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