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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: clip · swing · bay · cell · drill · arm · toast · field

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. swing — in golf
  3. clip — a video
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. swing — music
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. field — a subject
  9. toast — bread
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. drill — a practice
  12. field — farmland
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. drill — the tool
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cell — in biology
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. field — for sport

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