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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wake — a trail
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. field — for sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. clip — a video
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rest — what's left
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. clip — for paper
  14. field — farmland
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. net — after costs
  17. field — a subject
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. clip — to cut
  24. mouse — the animal

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