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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 116 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. field — a subject
  3. clip — for paper
  4. shower — to wash
  5. clip — to cut
  6. field — farmland
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. charge — a price
  9. clip — a video
  10. rest — what's left
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rest — what's left
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rest — a break
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. charge — electricity
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. shower — rain
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — for sport
  23. saw — the tool
  24. charge — in control

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