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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. march — the month
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. root — the cause
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. content — happy
  8. mate — a friend
  9. march — music
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. mate — a partner
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. root — of a plant
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. mate — to breed
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. march — the month
  19. root — of a word
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. content — the amount

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