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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 120 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 · rush · mate · racket · pass · clip · fall · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. pass — a permit
  9. clip — a video
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. field — for sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. field — farmland
  19. rush — hurry
  20. chest — a box
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. clip — to cut
  24. field — a subject

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