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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hand — help
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. hand — in cards
  6. file — a tool
  7. field — a subject
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mate — to breed
  11. file — a line of people
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. drill — the tool
  16. field — for sport
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. mate — a friend
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. drill — army training
  21. file — a document
  22. mate — a partner
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. hand — part of the body

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