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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rest — what's left
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. field — for sport
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. stock — goods
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. ground — a position
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rest — what's left
  12. ground — crushed
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. tube — a container
  15. stock — shares
  16. field — a subject
  17. ground — the earth
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. field — farmland
  22. clip — for paper
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. rest — a break

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