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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. object — a thing
  7. march — the month
  8. field — a subject
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — for sport
  11. object — to protest
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. present — a gift
  14. march — the month
  15. present — the time now
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. present — there
  18. capital — a city
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fall — to drop
  21. capital — money
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. field — farmland
  24. march — music

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