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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. field — farmland
  4. net — after costs
  5. field — a subject
  6. net — for catching
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. key — in music
  9. clip — a video
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. key — for a lock
  13. clip — for paper
  14. net — in sport
  15. field — for sport
  16. track — a path
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. track — to keep track
  19. sharp — clever
  20. key — the most important part
  21. swing — in golf
  22. track — a song
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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