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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: net · field · clip · arm · chair · pop · key · mark

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pop — music
  3. clip — a video
  4. key — for a lock
  5. pop — to visit
  6. field — for sport
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. key — in music
  10. field — a subject
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. net — in sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. net — after costs
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pop — soda
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. field — farmland
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. clip — to cut
  24. key — the most important part

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