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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. present — a gift
  4. field — a subject
  5. cue — a signal
  6. present — the time now
  7. field — farmland
  8. scale — size or range
  9. march — the month
  10. cue — for pool
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. court — of law
  13. field — for sport
  14. march — music
  15. scale — in music
  16. present — there
  17. rock — a stone
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cue — a hint
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rock — music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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