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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cap — of ice
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cap — a lid
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. ball — a great time
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cap — a hat
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — music
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. foot — a measure
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. march — the month
  23. field — a subject
  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