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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: pound · fork · field · staff · arm · track · clip · face

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. staff — a stick
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. field — for sport
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. field — farmland
  9. clip — a video
  10. staff — employees
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pound — a weight
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. field — a subject
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. staff — employees
  19. face — to confront
  20. clip — for paper
  21. track — to keep track
  22. face — to point toward
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. fork — in a road

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