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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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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 · stick · racket · lean · fall · clip · rule · face

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — a video
  4. field — a subject
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. field — for sport
  8. face — to confront
  9. lean — to bend
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. clip — to cut
  13. field — farmland
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rule — government
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. face — to point toward
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — a law
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. face — part of the head
  24. rule — to rule out

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