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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bound — tied together
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — a video
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bound — obliged
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. field — for sport
  11. march — music
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bound — certain
  15. field — farmland
  16. key — the most important part
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. key — for a lock
  19. clip — to cut
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. march — the month
  22. kick — in football
  23. key — in music
  24. calf — a young animal

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