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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. field — a subject
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. kick — in football
  9. cue — a signal
  10. plane — a tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — to cut
  14. squash — to crush
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. wound — an injury
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. clip — a video

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