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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — to cut
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cell — in biology
  5. shower — rain
  6. clip — a video
  7. cell — a phone
  8. field — farmland
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spell — a short time
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. spell — letters
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. field — a subject
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. field — for sport
  18. pass — a permit
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. clip — for paper
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. shower — to wash
  24. spell — magic

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