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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. content — the amount
  3. field — a subject
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. land — a country
  8. content — happy
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. last — final
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. field — farmland
  15. last — to go on
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. clip — for paper
  18. toast — bread
  19. clip — a video
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. last — finally
  22. pit — a hole
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. field — for sport

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