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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. root — of a plant
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. clip — to cut
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. bulb — for light
  14. root — of a word
  15. bulb — for light
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. shower — to wash
  18. field — farmland
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bass — the fish
  22. field — a subject
  23. root — the cause
  24. chair — to sit on

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