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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 · saw · cabinet · clip · stick · mug · wound · net

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — a cup
  3. net — for catching
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. field — a subject
  9. net — after costs
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mug — to rob
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. saw — the tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. saw — the tool
  20. field — farmland
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. net — in sport
  23. clip — a video
  24. field — for sport

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