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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. game — a match
  3. land — ground
  4. game — wild animals
  5. land — to come down
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. field — for sport
  10. saw — the tool
  11. clip — a video
  12. stem — to come from
  13. field — a subject
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. land — a country
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. field — farmland
  23. foot — a measure
  24. cabinet — ministers

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