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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. field — for sport
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. charge — electricity
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. clip — a video
  11. field — a subject
  12. clip — to cut
  13. charge — in control
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. charge — a price
  23. field — farmland
  24. clip — for paper

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