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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: ground · clip · stick · wind · bore · jam · field · wake

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bore — to drill
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. field — for sport
  6. ground — a position
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. clip — a video
  11. ground — the earth
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. field — farmland
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. bore — to tire
  18. ground — crushed
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. clip — to cut

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