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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 an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bass — the fish
  6. clip — a video
  7. face — to point toward
  8. fall — to drop
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. fall — the season
  16. face — part of the head
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. face — to confront
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bass — low music
  24. clip — to cut

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