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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. march — the month
  4. stock — shares
  5. press — to push
  6. press — a publisher
  7. field — farmland
  8. march — the month
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. press — newspapers
  12. plane — a tool
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. field — for sport
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stock — goods
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. march — music
  22. bore — to tire
  23. field — a subject
  24. bore — to drill

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