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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rock — music
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ball — a dance
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — a video
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mug — a cup
  15. field — for sport
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. field — farmland
  18. rock — a stone
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. mug — a face
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. clip — to cut

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