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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. field — for sport
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. can — a tin
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. field — a subject
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. field — farmland
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. can — to be able to
  16. mark — a trace
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. clip — to cut
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. clip — a video
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. mark — a grade
  23. can — a tin
  24. coach — a trainer

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