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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. field — a subject
  3. spring — the season
  4. present — there
  5. land — ground
  6. clip — to cut
  7. object — a thing
  8. clip — for paper
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. object — an aim
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. land — to come down
  13. spring — a coil
  14. field — farmland
  15. firm — decided
  16. spring — of water
  17. object — to protest
  18. firm — a company
  19. land — a country
  20. present — a gift
  21. firm — steady
  22. foot — a measure
  23. field — for sport
  24. clip — a video

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