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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 116 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: dip · mate · wound · clip · ruler · content · chair · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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 — farmland
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. dip — to sink
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. chair — a leader
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — a video
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — for sport
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mate — a friend
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. clip — for paper
  22. field — a subject
  23. mate — to breed
  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