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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. clip — a video
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. row — a line
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. court — for sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. ground — crushed
  15. clip — for paper
  16. field — a subject
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. court — of law
  21. ground — the earth
  22. field — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  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