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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mark — a grade
  4. ball — a great time
  5. key — the most important part
  6. clip — for paper
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. field — farmland
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. key — in music
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. mark — a trace
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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