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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · clip · race · craft · content · press

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. field — a subject
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. field — for sport
  6. content — happy
  7. race — the arms race
  8. craft — boats
  9. press — to push
  10. craft — a skill
  11. press — a publisher
  12. field — farmland
  13. clip — a video
  14. content — the amount
  15. race — humankind
  16. press — newspapers
  17. race — a contest
  18. clip — for paper

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