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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. plane — a tool
  3. field — for sport
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. clip — to cut
  6. firm — a company
  7. clip — for paper
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. firm — decided
  10. game — wild animals
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. net — after costs
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. last — finally
  15. net — in sport
  16. last — to go on
  17. game — a match
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. firm — steady
  20. net — for catching
  21. clip — a video
  22. last — final
  23. field — farmland
  24. plane — an aircraft

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