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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bound — certain
  6. chair — a leader
  7. field — farmland
  8. bound — tied together
  9. object — a thing
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. lie — to recline
  12. rock — music
  13. bound — obliged
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. field — for sport
  16. rock — a stone
  17. object — to protest
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. object — an aim

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