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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. stem — to come from
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. field — a subject
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. mine — for digging
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. field — farmland
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. march — music
  19. field — for sport
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. chair — a leader
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. march — the month

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