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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: cell · hand · cue · field · clip · ground · mate · pop

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pop — music
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mate — a partner
  6. field — for sport
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. field — a subject
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cue — for pool
  14. hand — help
  15. cue — a signal
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. hand — in cards
  19. clip — a video
  20. field — farmland
  21. mate — to breed
  22. cue — a hint
  23. mate — a friend
  24. pop — soda

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