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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: key · clip · field · wax · content · patient · rule · ground

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. ground — the earth
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wax — to grow
  5. ground — a position
  6. key — for a lock
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. clip — a video
  10. key — in music
  11. key — the most important part
  12. ground — crushed
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. rule — government
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. rule — a law
  22. clip — for paper
  23. content — happy
  24. patient — a sick person

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