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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 124 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. key — in music
  3. field — farmland
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — part of the head
  7. field — for sport
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. key — the most important part
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tube — a container
  15. clip — for paper
  16. tube — the underground
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. key — for a lock
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. field — a subject
  23. face — to point toward
  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