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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. game — a match
  4. charge — electricity
  5. suit — to fit
  6. lean — thin
  7. tear — from crying
  8. charge — in control
  9. tear — from crying
  10. charge — a price
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. suit — clothes
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. suit — in cards
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. field — farmland
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. clip — a video
  20. field — a subject
  21. tear — to rip
  22. clip — to cut
  23. game — wild animals
  24. lean — to bend

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