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

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. field — for sport
  5. march — the month
  6. stand — to bear
  7. squash — the sport
  8. march — the month
  9. field — farmland
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cap — of ice
  12. branch — a division
  13. field — a subject
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. march — music
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cap — a hat
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. squash — to crush

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