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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 116 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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. lean — to bend
  4. field — a subject
  5. clip — for paper
  6. perch — the fish
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. clip — to cut
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. spell — letters
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. clip — a video
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. lean — thin
  16. spell — magic
  17. field — farmland
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. ball — a dance
  20. plane — a tool
  21. spell — a short time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a great time
  24. tear — from crying

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