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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — for sport
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bore — to drill
  8. season — of the year
  9. firm — decided
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. firm — a company
  13. pop — music
  14. clip — for paper
  15. firm — steady
  16. bore — to tire
  17. field — a subject
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — a video
  20. season — in sport
  21. pop — soda
  22. field — farmland
  23. pop — to visit
  24. season — to add flavour

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