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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. swing — music
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. clip — to cut
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pitch — completely
  14. saw — the tool
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. swing — to play on
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — a safe
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. field — farmland

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