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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cap — a hat
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cap — a lid
  7. mug — to rob
  8. cap — of ice
  9. mug — a cup
  10. field — a subject
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. court — of law
  14. field — for sport
  15. mug — a face
  16. fine — all right
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. field — farmland
  21. stem — to come from
  22. court — for sport
  23. march — the month
  24. stem — of a plant

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