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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. clip — for paper
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. present — there
  7. pitch — completely
  8. present — a gift
  9. season — of the year
  10. cap — a lid
  11. clip — a video
  12. field — a subject
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bulb — for light
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. field — for sport
  17. season — in sport
  18. cap — of ice
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. present — the time now
  23. field — farmland
  24. bulb — of a plant

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