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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. field — a subject
  4. clip — to cut
  5. field — for sport
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cue — for pool
  9. kick — in football
  10. field — farmland
  11. clip — for paper
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cue — a hint
  19. clip — a video
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. cue — a signal

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