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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. season — of the year
  4. field — for sport
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — hurry
  8. kick — in football
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. game — wild animals
  18. season — in sport
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. plane — a tool
  22. march — the month
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. game — a match

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