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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. field — for sport
  4. march — music
  5. spell — a short time
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. field — farmland
  8. bound — certain
  9. spell — letters
  10. root — the cause
  11. march — the month
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bound — obliged
  14. spell — magic
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. snap — to click
  17. stem — to come from
  18. root — of a plant
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bound — tied together
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. root — of a word

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