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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. season — of the year
  4. spell — magic
  5. pop — music
  6. field — farmland
  7. pop — soda
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. spell — letters
  10. bound — tied together
  11. field — for sport
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bound — certain
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spell — a short time
  17. clip — a video
  18. season — in sport
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. field — a subject
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bound — obliged

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