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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. squash — to crush
  5. object — an aim
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. object — to protest
  8. squash — the sport
  9. drill — army training
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. clip — a video
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. drill — a practice
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. clip — to cut
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. object — a thing
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. field — a subject

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