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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. tube — a container
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stand — to bear
  10. field — for sport
  11. face — part of the head
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. field — farmland
  14. net — after costs
  15. tube — the underground
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. clip — a video
  19. field — a subject
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. rash — hasty
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. clip — to cut

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