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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. clip — a video
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. field — farmland
  9. clip — for paper
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. field — for sport
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mine — for digging
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. last — to go on
  19. field — a subject
  20. staff — employees
  21. fork — in a road
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. last — final
  24. fork — a garden tool

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