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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. net — for catching
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kick — in football
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. clip — a video
  8. net — after costs
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. net — in sport
  16. bark — to shout
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. can — to be able to
  20. field — for sport
  21. clip — to cut
  22. field — farmland
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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