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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cap — a lid
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. march — the month
  5. field — for sport
  6. date — the fruit
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cap — of ice
  9. field — farmland
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. club — a group
  15. march — music
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. land — a country
  21. cap — a hat
  22. sharp — clever
  23. field — a subject
  24. date — on the calendar

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