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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. staff — employees
  4. cold — an illness
  5. staff — a stick
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rock — music
  12. field — a subject
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. clip — to cut
  18. field — farmland
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. clip — a video
  22. rock — a stone
  23. staff — employees
  24. cold — the Cold War

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