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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. field — for sport
  4. last — final
  5. field — a subject
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. last — to go on
  8. spell — letters
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. last — finally
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. spell — magic
  18. clip — for paper
  19. scale — in music
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. pound — a weight
  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