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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. clip — to cut
  5. present — there
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. drill — army training
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — a permit
  10. drill — a practice
  11. present — a gift
  12. field — farmland
  13. dip — to sink
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. clip — a video
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. field — a subject
  18. drill — the tool
  19. present — the time now
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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