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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. clip — to cut
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. suit — clothes
  6. suit — in cards
  7. field — for sport
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bound — obliged
  10. root — of a plant
  11. clip — a video
  12. scale — size or range
  13. field — farmland
  14. saw — the tool
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bound — certain
  18. suit — to fit
  19. field — a subject
  20. root — the cause
  21. scale — in music
  22. root — of a word
  23. saw — the tool
  24. scale — for weighing

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