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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. field — a subject
  3. march — the month
  4. season — in sport
  5. field — for sport
  6. track — a path
  7. track — a song
  8. key — in music
  9. track — to keep track
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — a city
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — music
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. saw — the tool
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. season — of the year
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. capital — money
  24. saw — the tool

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