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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. march — music
  3. field — farmland
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. field — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. present — there
  8. stem — to come from
  9. court — of law
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — the time now
  12. march — the month
  13. staff — a stick
  14. court — for sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. field — a subject
  19. staff — employees
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. march — the month

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