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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. pit — a hole
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — in music
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. field — for sport
  10. march — music
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. march — the month
  13. pit — in a race
  14. field — farmland
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. squash — to crush
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. scale — size or range

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