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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. spring — of water
  3. field — a subject
  4. kid — child
  5. fine — high quality
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fine — all right
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. clip — for paper
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mark — a trace
  13. spring — the season
  14. clip — a video
  15. kid — to tease
  16. field — for sport
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. clip — to cut
  22. field — farmland
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mark — to pay attention

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