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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: ball · field · season · content · perch · present · clip · nail

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. perch — the fish
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. season — of the year
  8. field — farmland
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. ball — a dance
  11. present — the time now
  12. content — happy
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. content — the amount
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. field — for sport
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. season — in sport
  23. clip — for paper
  24. ball — a great time

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