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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. march — the month
  7. court — for sport
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. field — farmland
  10. fall — to drop
  11. court — of a king
  12. march — the month
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. field — a subject
  15. rock — a stone
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. court — of law
  18. march — music
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. rock — music
  23. fall — the season
  24. field — for sport

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