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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: field · face · toast · mouse · cue · bulb · clip · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. field — a subject
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cue — a signal
  5. face — to confront
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. toast — bread
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wind — moving air
  12. clip — a video
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — for pool
  15. face — to point toward
  16. clip — to cut
  17. face — part of the head
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. bulb — for light
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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