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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. field — for sport
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. tube — a container
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. net — for catching
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. net — in sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. field — a subject
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. net — after costs
  20. march — the month
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. march — the month
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. lie — an untruth

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