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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitcher · clip · safe · march · nail · present · field · cell

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. march — music
  3. field — farmland
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. march — the month
  6. present — the time now
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. clip — a video
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. clip — to cut
  13. present — a gift
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. present — there
  18. cell — in biology
  19. clip — for paper
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. march — the month
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. pitcher — a jug

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