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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. field — a subject
  5. press — a publisher
  6. clip — for paper
  7. track — a song
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. track — a path
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stock — goods
  13. clip — a video
  14. press — to push
  15. field — farmland
  16. track — to keep track
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. hand — help
  24. pitcher — a jug

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