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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fine — high quality
  7. field — farmland
  8. race — humankind
  9. cue — a signal
  10. fine — all right
  11. cue — a hint
  12. season — of the year
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. root — of a word
  15. cue — for pool
  16. race — a contest
  17. root — the cause
  18. lie — to recline
  19. clip — for paper
  20. root — of a plant
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. field — a subject
  23. race — the arms race
  24. field — for sport

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