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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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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: leaves · stick · clip · game · field · bear · cell · pound

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. game — a match
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. clip — a video
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. field — for sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — in biology
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. field — a subject
  23. pound — a weight
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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