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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. content — happy
  3. clip — for paper
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — obliged
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. press — to push
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. press — newspapers
  15. craft — boats
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bound — tied together
  18. field — farmland
  19. race — a contest
  20. sharp — clever
  21. craft — a skill
  22. race — humankind
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. race — the arms race

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