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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. rash — a series
  3. march — the month
  4. rule — a law
  5. field — farmland
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wound — an injury
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wound — an injury
  15. field — for sport
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. march — the month
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rule — government
  20. dip — to sink
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. field — a subject

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