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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rule — government
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rule — a law
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bass — low music
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. branch — a division
  21. bass — the fish
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. mouse — the animal

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