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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. drill — the tool
  6. last — to go on
  7. cap — a lid
  8. march — music
  9. last — finally
  10. march — the month
  11. perch — the fish
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. last — final
  14. spring — the season
  15. field — farmland
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. drill — army training
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cap — a hat
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cap — of ice
  22. kick — in football
  23. drill — a practice
  24. spring — of water

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