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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chest — a box
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chest — of your body
  5. clip — to cut
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. clip — for paper
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mark — a trace
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — in music
  13. pass — a permit
  14. file — a document
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. field — farmland
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. clip — a video
  20. file — a tool
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mark — a grade

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