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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. field — a subject
  5. fine — all right
  6. firm — steady
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fine — high quality
  9. pop — soda
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bore — to tire
  14. field — for sport
  15. firm — a company
  16. pop — to visit
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. firm — decided
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. pop — music
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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