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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. rush — hurry
  4. lean — thin
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — a thing
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. row — a line
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. field — a subject
  13. firm — decided
  14. rule — government
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. clip — to cut
  17. field — farmland
  18. firm — steady
  19. row — to paddle
  20. firm — a company
  21. clip — for paper
  22. object — an aim
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. rule — a law

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