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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. swing — music
  5. file — a line of people
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. field — a subject
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. file — a document
  10. field — for sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — in golf
  13. clip — a video
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. wind — moving air
  19. swing — to play on
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bass — low music
  22. file — a tool
  23. bass — the fish
  24. arm — part of the body

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