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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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 — for sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pit — a hole
  4. content — the amount
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. field — farmland
  7. spell — a short time
  8. net — for catching
  9. content — happy
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. pit — in a race
  12. clip — a video
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. net — in sport
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. net — after costs
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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