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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. rash — on the skin
  2. field — farmland
  3. rash — a series
  4. fine — high quality
  5. spell — a short time
  6. field — for sport
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. spell — magic
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. clip — for paper
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. field — a subject
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spell — letters
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fine — all right
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rash — hasty
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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