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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. field — a subject
  4. board — a committee
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. march — music
  7. last — final
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. field — for sport
  13. stem — to come from
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. field — farmland
  16. perch — the fish
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally

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