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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. present — there
  2. scale — in music
  3. march — the month
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — money
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. last — to go on
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. march — music
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. field — farmland
  15. last — final
  16. court — of a king
  17. last — finally
  18. present — a gift
  19. scale — size or range
  20. field — a subject
  21. present — the time now
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. capital — a city
  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