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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. march — music
  6. field — for sport
  7. spring — a coil
  8. march — the month
  9. field — farmland
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — the season
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. march — the month
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. spring — of water
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. cap — a lid

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